Barriers
by The Wayward Philosopher
Summary: Post-canon. A new enemy emerges, one that threatens all three worlds and the distinctions between them. OC inclusion, since it's a new plot. OC/Kurama. Please enjoy!
1. Chapter 1: Beginnings

_UPDATE: I highly recommend not reading this. It's one of my first-ever fanfics, and not very good. Still, if you're so inclined, I'll not stop you._

_A/N: I usually try to put these at the end, but a few things warrant immediate attention. First off, I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of the canon characters, only the OCs and the plot, insofar as I thought it up. _

_Secondly, many thanks to my beta, Corri18, for all her invaluable help._

_With that, I bid you happy reading. I hope you like it, reviews are always welcomed._

* * *

Koenma sighed. More paperwork. He'd managed to finish two huge stacks of it yesterday, and already there were three more waiting on his desk. It seemed his father was still intent on making him suffer.

He ignored whatever Ogre was dithering about and made his way over to his chair. Unusually, it seemed as though a small pile of documents had been set aside from the rest, occupying the space directly in front of him.

"Ogre, what's this all about?" He asked over the former's incessant stream of conversation, indicating the papers.

"Well, that's what I was just trying to tell you, Koenma sir," said Ogre rather reproachfully. "But then I suppose you would know that if you ever listened to me…"

"Ogre!" Koenma snapped, annoyed. "Just hurry up and tell me what these papers are all about! I don't have all day you know."

Ogre looked like he was about to refuse, but his boss had one of those looks that always made him reconsider, so he settled for an audible, dramatic sigh.

"Well, sir, reports have been coming in from Human World as well as the Demon World patrol of various unexplainable phenomena."

"Oh? Like what?"

"For starters, demon insects have been showing up in Human World lately. There has also been an increase in the number of humans showing up at the border. The patrol's really had their hands full, you know?"

Koenma sat back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest. It had only been a year since the second Makai Tournament, and the winner had been the same demon as before. Things had been going so well, Yusuke and the others hadn't even bothered to show up. Of course, there was still the occasional incident of a demon illegally traveling to the Human World and making a ruckus, but nothing major. So what was all this about?

Koenma only half-listened as Ogre rambled on about demon insects, instead inspecting the papers. Sure enough, there was a log of all the humans who had been found on the wrong side of the Demon World border. The numbers seemed to have been increasing steadily for a few months, but last month had seen an increase that tripled the one before.

But it was the document on the bottom that really caught Koenma's attention. It indicated something that simply couldn't be true. He read over it several times for confirmation. Small portals had reportedly opened in Spirit World itself, not large enough to allow anything through, but enough that the world on the other side could be seen. It appeared that all discovered portals had been closed, but they seemed to be popping up at an alarming rate.

"What's all this about?" Koenma mused aloud.

"Er…well, I really don't know, sir," offered Ogre.

"I wasn't asking you, dolt!" _Still, _he thought, _I'd better tell Yusuke and the others what's happening. It may not be as safe as I'd thought._

* * *

Aoyama Shiki opened one eye blearily and scowled at her clock. Was it really morning already? She sat up and rubbed her eyes, trying to clear the last vestiges of the night's dreams from her head.

Her school uniform was hanging in her closet; she slid the door back before removing it gently from its hanger and made sure her other clothes were straight before sliding it shut again. Folding her bedclothes neatly, she did a last check that everything was in order before she left her room.

Her stockinged feet made no sound as she descended the stairs of her parents' ryokan to the large kitchen where the guests' and family meals alike were prepared.

"Good morning, mother," she said formally, bowing. "Breakfast smells wonderful."

"Good morning, Shiki," replied Ayaka, smiling. "The tea is ready. Would you please go serve your father?"

Shiki nodded, carefully grasping the tray before carrying it into the adjacent family-only dining room. Aoyama Daisuke was, as always, sitting at the head of the small table, reading the daily newspaper. Shiki carefully set down the tray to his left and sat with it, taking great care to pour the tea correctly. It was a task that had been hers since she was young; her parents had even made her take a class on the full-blown tea ceremony. Well, that and everything else one needed to know to run an old-fashioned ryokan like her family's.

She returned the teapot to the tray and rose, taking it back to the kitchen. Ayaka would need it for later that morning, when the guests came in for their breakfast. She heard the sound of the paper folding behind her as her father finished reading and reached for his tea. There was nothing quite so predictable as this morning ritual.

Her mother had finished the meal, and the three of them ate in relative silence. This was something a little more recent. _Conversation_, Shiki thought, _left the house with Ichirou and Emi._ Ichirou, her brother, taught at the University in Kyoto, while her sister Emi had left to pursue a career in show business. As far as the family knew, she was currently working in a restaurant somewhere, waiting for a break.

Shiki snuck a look across the table at her parents. Her father was of medium height, with a face all sharp and stubborn angles. His hairline was receding, and there was a substantial amount of gray at each of his temples. Some of it was surely age, but he wasn't really _that_ old. No, a good half of that grey hadn't appeared until Emi had taken off.

Ayaka, on the other hand, was still as youthful as ever. She had a pleasant, round face, and her expressions were all naturally soft-looking. Her black hair, like Shiki's own, fell in thick sheets to her elbows. They also shared the same cobalt-blue eyes, though Shiki was confident that her own looks were nothing but a shallow imitation of her mother's radiance, like something seen through translucent glass.

Having finished her meal, Shiki waited in silence as her parents did the same, then collected the dishes and took them onto the kitchen. She was up to her elbows in dishwater when her mother joined her, chopping ingredients for guest meals.

"Shiki, dear," her mother began. "How is school these days? We don't seem to get to talk too much anymore, so I wondered how you were doing."

Every once in a while, Ayaka started to feel guilty about the fact that the family wasn't really all that involved in each others' lives anymore. When it came to that, Shiki usually just pushed aside any inquiries with a smile, and that was enough.

"School is well, mother," she said brightly.

"I see. Just two years left, right? I'm looking forward to having you around to help here full-time. I could really use it these days."

Shiki's shoulders slumped, and she was glad they were not facing each other. That was the last thing _she _wanted.

"Unless…" Ayaka's tone was strange, causing Shiki to turn. Her mother was looking straight at her, a small, knowing smile on her face. "Unless that's not what you want to do? After all, my two other children chose something else. Perhaps this inn will die with your Father and I."

Shiki sighed inwardly. Her mother was always like this. She knew exactly what Shiki wanted. She'd probably even seen the papers from Tokyo University, though Shiki had been trying her best to hide them. She knew everything, and yet she would not contradict Daisuke's ruling that their youngest child was to work at the inn until she was married to somebody respectable. The inn itself would go to Ichirou, of course, but in practicality it was Shiki who had been trained to run it, since Ichirou was a respected academic.

"That is…" Shiki started. She was about to affirm that she would, indeed, be there to help. What else could she do, anyway? Her parents were depending on her.

Ayaka held a finger to her lips. "Never speak aloud those things which you are not certain of, my child."

Shiki was startled, and clamped her mouth shut. Her mother was given to the occasional cryptic remark, but not like this.

"Well, Shiki, your father thinks it's high time you found yourself a boyfriend. Is there anyone at school you're interested in?" She winked.

_Ugh. My other least favorite topic._ "Not really."

"Whatever happened to Hayato?" He had been the topic of their last real conversation, which was about five weeks ago.

The color rose to Shiki's cheeks, and she turned back to the dishes. "I confessed. He rejected me," she answered bluntly.

"Oh?"

Shiki was silent. What else was there to say? She'd been nursing a crush on Hayato for the past few months. She'd left a note in his locker and confessed to him after school, like everyone else did. He'd refused her and made some comment about "plain girls" that she'd only half-heard.

"Are you okay with that?"

Shiki was confused. "I guess. I mean, he didn't like me, right? What's the point in dwelling on it?" She shrugged.

Ayaka sighed, but spoke no further on the subject. Shiki dried and stowed the last of the dishes, then bid her parents good day and headed for the door.

As she was preparing to leave, Shiki noticed something odd. She could have sworn she saw something crawling around in her left shoe. Curious, she crept toward it carefully. Turning her head to look from a different angle, she spied what appeared to be a large bug. Slapping a hand over her mouth to stifle a shriek, she grabbed an umbrella from the stand by the door. As the thing flew out of her shoe, she swung the umbrella, catching it in mid-flight. It dropped, and she stooped to examine it. It was like no insect she could name, that was for sure. It was much larger, and decidedly more creepy.

She used a tissue to pick it up and throw it in the nearest trash can just as her mother appeared in the doorway.

"Is everything okay? I thought I heard something."

"Everything's fine, mother. I just saw a bug is all," Shiki smiled bashfully. "You know how I hate bugs."

She pulled on her shoes and walked out the door for school. Ayaka smiled and bid her farewell. As soon as the door was closed, she opened the lid of the trash can. Her eyes widened as she saw what was inside; a hand flew to her mouth. What could this mean?

* * *

"Koenma wants a meeting?" Kurama closed his eyes. This couldn't be good.

"Yeah," Yusuke's voice came form the earpiece of the phone, sounding confused. "Apparently something big's going down, Kurama. He wants you get the message to Hiei too. We're all supposed to show up at Genkai's."

"I see. Did he give any further information?"

"No. I've gotta feeling this is something he only wants to explain once, ya know?"

"Very well. I will see if I can contact him."

Kurama closed the phone. Not that there were any guarantees. Hiei was pretty busy these days. Besides, there was no way of knowing whether he'd be interested in coming anyway. _Still, if it's got Koenma worried enough to risk his father's ire by contacting us, it must be important._

He looked out at the city. He was standing on the rooftop of his school, having taken the call during lunch. He noticed one other student present, and had been careful not to say anything too conspicuous.

Why was she up here, anyway? Kurama was certain he'd seen her before. Yes, she was in one of the junior classes. Her name was… Aoyama. Aoyama Shiki. He had seen the name frequently on the academic boards for her grade.

"Good afternoon, Aoyama-san," he said, taking a few steps toward her and the stairs downward.

She appeared to be surprised that he was talking to her, but quickly hid it with a small smile. "Good afternoon, Minamino-senpai. Do you need something?" The girl had a rather ornate bento box balanced carefully on her lap, and appeared to be just starting to eat.

"Ah, no, not really," he replied. "I was just enjoying the fresh air up here is all."

"It is quite nice," she remarked blandly. "That's why I eat up here."

"Well, that's not really allowed, now, is it?"

"No, I suppose not. But then, neither are cell phones."

"Ehe…" He put a hand to the back of his head. "I suppose fair is fair. Enjoy your lunch." He put a hand on the doorknob to the stairs and opened it, disappearing from view.

* * *

Shiki was out the door as soon as the bell had stopped ringing. Afternoons were, without a doubt, her favorite time of day. Humming to herself a little, she made her way around to the back of the school, and then due west for a few blocks. As soon as she was sure she was away from anyone who knew her, she broke into a run. This always made the three remaining miles to Jii-chan's house go by quickly. Just before she reached the property, she slowed. If the old man knew how much she enjoyed coming to see him, she'd never hear the end of it.

As she walked up the path to his front door, she was aware of someone watching her. A smirk broke across her face, and she turned in the direction of her pursuer.

"Come on out, Jii-chan. I know you're there."

"How many times do I have to tell you? Call me sensei! Or at least Ojii-san!" Her grandfather leapt from the cover of the nearby bushes and ran at her.

Shrugging off her backpack, Shiki sighed with mock frustration. "Must we do this every day…?" She launched herself into the air, intending to get over the old man's head, but he grabbed an ankle as she cleared his height, forcing her to yank it from his grip and land beside rather than behind him. They faced each other, both moves having been neutralized. Shiki waited. She rarely ever initiated attacks. It wasn't her style, which was probably a good thing, since she was only five feet tall and not terribly strong. Her arts relied on using the strength of others against them.

Jii-chan came at her again, and this time, rather than try and evade, she waited. Blocking his first few punches, she was about to launch one of her own when he caught her with a blow to the stomach, bringing her to her knees.

"Looks like I win today," he said smugly. "That's three thousand and twelve to five. My favor of course. Now come inside."

Shiki groaned and entered the dojo. He'd been keeping count ever since he'd started teaching her martial arts at the age of seven. Of course, that was only the count for the light daily hand-to-hand. The real instruction was done with staffs, and these days she won at that pretty often.

Shiki entered the changing room and put on her gi, pulling her hair into a ponytail, something her father likely wouldn't approve of. He always said that if she was going to put her hair up, she'd best do it properly and use ornaments. She rolled her eyes. Her father was certainly a good person, but his love of tradition seemed often to eclipse his love for her.

She grabbed her jo staff from where it hung on the wall and went through her warmup forms, listening and correcting her posture whenever Jii-chan detected something off, which wasn't as frequent as it had once been. Other students around her sparred with longer bo staffs, but Shiki preferred the lighter, shorter jo, mostly due to her height. Sometimes she also practiced with naginata, which were adjusted to the individual measurements of the wielder.

As she swung the staff, she felt herself relax. Practicing like this often lent her much-needed clarity and focus. Around Jii-chan, she was truly at ease. The old man was the only member of her family she considered herself close to, although she and her brother had once been so as well. But now Ichirou was married and in Kyoto, so it wasn't the same as it had been when they were kids.

She lowered her staff. It seemed like her heart just wasn't in it today. She'd been feeling weird since she'd seen the bug that morning. It was like there was something tugging at the corner of her thoughts, something she couldn't identify. Whenever she tried to focus on the feeling, it disappeared.

"Oy, what's this?" Jii-chan inquired loudly. "Your form's gone on holiday and taken your focus with it!"

Shiki smiled ruefully. "Sorry, Jii-chan. I just can't seem to shake this funny feeling is all."

"Call me sensei!" The old man's expression grew serious. "What kind of feeling?"

She shook her head slowly. "I don't know."

"Hmm." The old man thought for a moment, then smacked the side of his fist against his open palm enthusiastically. "Of course! Come here, girl."

Shiki made a face, but followed him outside anyway. He led her to a tree in the back yard, from which was suspended a birdcage. As they got closer, she could see that the cage contained not a bird, but a large bug like the one she had killed that morning.

"What is that, Jii-chan?" She asked, pointing.

"So you can see it then?"

"What are you talking about? Of course I can see it. It's a giant bug. I killed one just this morning," she added, shuddering.

"Oh? With what?"

"An umbrella."

At this, her grandfather laughed uproariously.

"What's so funny? It was gross," she said flatly.

"Ehehe, sorry. It's just… an umbrella. Oh dear. You always were resourceful, girl, but that's a new one."

Shiki snorted. "If you're done laughing, you could at least answer my question."

The old man grew sober again, and frowned. "That is a demon insect."

"What?" Shiki shook her head in disbelief. "Demon..?" If her grandfather weren't so serious, she'd have brushed it off as a joke. But there was no trace of laughter remaining in his face. As it was, she still couldn't really accept what he'd just said.

"Yes. But there are those better suited to explain this than me. Wait here. I'll be back in a minute."

As he left, Shiki approached the cage with the demon insect. It certainly _looked_ like something she'd call demonic. It had iridescent eyes, a large, sticklike body, and gossamer wings. Still, she couldn't say that it wasn't just a freakishly large version of some actual bug species, though she couldn't identify which.

"Well, come on then." Jii-chan had apparently returned.

"Where are we going?"

"To visit an old acquaintance of mine. She lives in the mountains."

"The mountains? But I have to go home. Mother and father will be expecting me."

"Which is why I called and told them you'd be home late."

This was moving too quickly. Shiki took a breath to calm herself. "But… shouldn't I change or something?"

Jii-chan frowned. Bring your things if you must, but your gi will be just fine where we are going. Bring your staff too."

Shiki was going to argue further, but Jii-chan's expression stopped her. There was something in the old man's usually jovial eyes that belied the importance of whatever it was they were doing. So she simply nodded and went to fetch her backpack and uniform.

* * *

"No."

Kurama sighed. He'd expected about as much. "Hiei, if I didn't think this was important, I wouldn't have come all this way. Please, come with me to Genkai's."

"Why should I care about Koenma's problems?" Hiei's eyes narrowed, and he crossed his arms.

"Because they could very well end up as everyone's problems. Think about it. Why would he risk all the punishment associated with contacting us if he didn't think it absolutely necessary?"

"Nice try, but I have plenty of better things to do around here."

Kurama smiled, allowing Hiei to see his amusement. "Better things? Like ferrying lost humans back to their own world? Come now, Hiei. If nothing else, the promise of a good fight should at least tempt you to see if it's worth your while."

At the apparition's continued silence, he sighed. "Very well then. I'll just tell Yukina you were busy. I'm sure Kuwabara will be pleased."

Hiei rolled his eyes. It was a cheap gambit, and they both knew it. Still, it was enough. "Fine. But if I don't want to do whatever it is Koenma asks, I'm leaving."

"Of course, Hiei. I'll give you a few minutes to inform the necessary parties, then we'll both leave."

"Hn." Hiei grunted, then sped off to the patrol headquarters.

* * *

"You have most inconvenient timing as always, Takahashi." Genkai sipped her tea.

"I prefer to think of it as 'opportune,'" countered Jii-chan, setting his own cup down. "Things are stirring up, Genkai, we both know it." He sat back and studied his acquaintance with a measured expression. There were, of course, no guarantees that she would do what he wanted. He could only hope that she would understand how necessary it was.

"Are you absolutely sure she's awakened fully?" Genkai returned the stare, and it looked to Shiki very much like two old tigers facing off over some disputed piece of territory.

"Of course I am! I wouldn't waste your time, now would I?"

"What you are is a waste of space, old man."

"Me? Old? I don't look half as old as you, hag!"

Shiki sighed. He was at it again. Jii-chan seemed to have this argument with all his old "friends." She'd only met a few of them, each stranger than the last. Genkai actually seemed relatively ordinary, if a bit cranky.

"Um… excuse me?"

"What is it? Spit it out, child!"

"Er… if this is really such a bad time…" She let the question hang in the air. There was really nothing else she could say. The two masters looked at each other again, and it seemed as if half the conversation was happening without her knowledge. She found it slightly annoying to be left out of the loop like this, but she was pretty used to adults not asking for her thoughts.

Genkai set down her tea. The girl was right. There was no time to waste. "Well, if you're aware, there's nothing else for it. I'll have to train you. You'll be staying here for the next few days. I hope that's okay," she said, in a way that suggested it had better be.

"Er… that is… I have school, and…" Shiki wasn't certain that this was a good idea.

"Eh, don't worry about it!" bellowed Jii-chan. "Vacation's coming up anyway, you can afford to miss a few days. I'll make all of your excuses. You just be good and do what the hag here tells you, okay?" He patted her back in a way that felt more like pounding, and she leaned forward to soften the blow. He'd gone back to that blustery friendliness again. There was no way he'd answer a serious question now.

"Sure, Jii-chan," she said, forcing a rather pained smile.

"Well, it's been great, Genkai! I'm off back to my dojo now, though! See you in a few days!" With a silly smile and a wave, he was off, leaving Shiki to wonder what exactly she'd just gotten herself into.

* * *

"We've got some time, I'll give you the basics," Genkai began.

"The basics of what, exactly?"

Genkai sighed. She hoped Takahashi's granddaughter was a fast learner. "World structure. This world, everything you can perceive with your five senses, is referred to as either the Living World or the Human World. In addition to this world, there are two others: Spirit World, governed by King Yama and his son Koenma, and the Demon World, currently under the control of a rather peaceful faction of demons. Human World and Demon World are connected by a portal that remains open at all times; sometimes humans wander into Demon World by mistake, in which case they are swiftly intercepted and returned here with their memories erased. Are you getting this so far?"

Shiki nodded. If she didn't think too much about the implications, it wasn't difficult to grasp at all. "Are the Human and Demon Worlds the only two that are connected? Is there only one connection between them?"

Genkai sighed. "The answer to both of your questions should be yes. Typically, souls are ferried from the Living World to Spirit World by ferry spirits when they die. Those in Spirit World have the means to access either of the other worlds if they wish, but there is seldom any occasion other than the one I just mentioned. There is only the one portal between the Human and Demon Worlds, and as I said, it is heavily guarded."

"You said the answers _should_ be yes. Why aren't they?"

"That is something I aim to find out. But my other guests are here. Make some more of this tea, would you? I'll allow you to sit in on the meeting if you promise that the information does not leave the room. Perhaps your question will be answered."

Shiki nodded, and took the teapot with her as she rose and headed for Genkai's kitchen. She was surprised to find someone already in there. A young girl with blue hair was apparently preparing a meal of some kind.

"Er-" Shiki stammered. Something about the girl felt… odd.

The girl smiled shyly. "Hello. I'm Yukina. I live here with Genkai."

Shiki pushed aside her unease and smiled. She seemed friendly enough, certainly more so than Genkai herself. "I'm Aoyama Shiki. Just Shiki is fine, though. Pleased to meet you." She indicated the pot. "Mind if I use the stove?"

Yukina shook her head. "Not at all."

"Thanks." Shiki moved next to Yukina and turned on the burner next to the one the other girl was using. "What are you making? It smells very nice. I'd say it was stew, but… there's something interesting in it."

"Oh. I'm using several local herbs from around here, so maybe that's it."

"Is that so? You will have to teach me which ones." Shiki fell silent. _I guess I'm mother's daughter after all._ The thought was tinged with some bitterness; she wondered if any of her interests were really her own, or if they had all been manufactured by someone else…

"Um… Shiki? Is something wrong? The water has been boiling for a while now and-"

"Oh!" Startled, Shiki grabbed the pot from the burner, moving it to the counter beside the stove. "Thanks, Yukina-san. Is the tea in here?" She opened the cupboard anyway, and found what she was looking for. Allowing the tea to steep, she leaned on the opposite counter and closed her eyes.

Yukina smiled, occasionally stirring the large pot of stew still on the oven. After a few minutes, Shiki moved the teapot to a tray, setting several cups on it as well. She had no idea how many guests there would be, so she decided to be on the safe side and take a couple of spares.

"I'll see you later, I suppose," she said to Yukina, then left carrying the tray.

She knelt in front of the door before knocking. At Genkai's acknowledgement, she slid open the door and stood again, carrying the tray into the room. She was surprised to observe that most of the guests appeared to be her age. There was another girl with blue hair; this one had a cheery face and wore a pink kimono. She was in the company of a strangely-dressed toddler who sat most uncharacteristically still for someone of his age. There were also two high school-aged males. Both of them looked like delinquents or something; one had slicked black hair and a scowl, the other one was still in his school uniform, and was at least a foot and a half taller than Shiki, with orange hair.

They were quite possibly the strangest-looking group of people she had ever seen. Still, it was her job as hostess not to let that show. If there was one thing being the daughter of an okami was good for, it was developing a pleasant mask. So Shiki served them all tea without saying anything.

"And who's this?" asked the blue-haired woman.

Shiki looked to Genkai, who nodded. "I'm Aoyama Shiki. I've come to train under Genkai-sensei. Pleased to meet you." She bowed.

"So formal! I'm Botan, Chief Ferry Girl of the River Styx! This here's Koenma, my boss, and those two are Urameshi Yusuke and Kuwabara Kazuma."

"Jeez, Botan, I can introduce myself!" admonished the one called Kuwabara.

Shiki wasn't paying much attention. She looked at the toddler again. Unless she was mistaken (and she was pretty sure she wasn't) Botan had said that _he_ was Koenma. Which was almost certainly the same name as Genkai had told her the young lord of Spirit World had.

"Um…" she began awkwardly, her practiced poker face slipping a bit.

"Your surprise is understandable," the toddler said fluently. "But I am, in fact, Koenma."

"Ah." Shiki wasn't exactly sure what to do, so she bowed deeply. "It is an honor to meet your highness," she managed.

"Did you hear that, everyone? Someone just showed me the proper respect! You could all take a lesson from this!"

"Aw, can it Koenma. You can't blame her since she doesn't know you," Yusuke smirked. "You don't need to bow to him or anything, trust me."

"Yusuke!"

"Would you two be quiet?" Genkai snapped. "Honestly. Arguing like children. Where are the others?"

"Others?" Shiki asked.

"We're waiting for Kurama and Hiei," offered Botan. Upon seeing Shiki's confused expression, however, she elaborated. "They're the last members of our group. Kurama went to go find Hiei, but we're not sure how well it's going to work, exactly. It's a…complicated situation."

"I see." Shiki didn't really get it, but she supposed she'd find out soon enough anyway.

"Speaking of which, they've just arrived," said Yusuke.

Shiki looked over at the door as it slid open. The first person she saw was a guy with spiky black hair. She would have guessed he was about two inches shorter than herself (not counting the hair), making him the third person after Genkai and Yukina that fit that description today. Maybe she wasn't so short after all. He had a sort of ruthless look about him that she had seen in certain martial artists, usually those that hadn't always practiced in a dojo.

But it was the second guest that caught her attention. "Minamino-senpai?"

Kurama's eyes narrowed, and he looked slightly puzzled. "Aoyama-san."

"You two know each other?" Kuwabara asked, looking from one to the other.

"Not really," answered Kurama. "Aoyama-san attends the same school as I do."

"That's beside the point right now," Genkai interrupted.

"Of course. I believe you have something to tell us, Koenma?" Kurama and Hiei were seated. Shiki remembered her job and poured them both and herself some tea, then sat back and waited. She wasn't sure what was going on, but she had a feeling it might be important to listen.


	2. Chapter 2: Exploration

_Nothing you recognize is mine._

* * *

"Lemme get this straight," Yusuke began. "Basically, a bunch of holes are popping up in the barriers between worlds."

"If you want to reduce it to something that simple, then yes," replied Koenma.

"And if it keeps up, there won't be any barrier left at all," put in Kuwabara, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Again, yes," Koenma sounded worried.

"Oh, well, that's no big deal then," Yusuke finished, shrugging.

"Say what! Yusuke, we're talking about the very divisions between worlds here! If this continues, there won't be any! Demons will run amok! Mass panic will ensue! My father will kill me!" Koenma's voice was reaching a pitch dangerously close to hysteria.

"Relax, Koenma. All we gotta do is find whatever's causing this and put a stop to it, right?"

Koenma opened his mouth to speak, but Hiei was quicker. "Fool. You make it sound so easy. We don't even know what the cause _is,_" he hissed, shooting a quick glance at Kurama.

The latter sighed softly, and set down the cup of tea he had been gradually drinking. "Unfortunately, Hiei is correct. We do not know if the disturbance is something from this world or another. Nor can we even say if it is a natural phenomenon or a person. Any direct action at this point is useless. We need more information."

Shiki looked sidelong at Genkai. Something told her that the old woman knew more than she was letting on. If that was the case, though, why wasn't she saying anything? At length, she spoke.

"It seems as though you boys have some work to do," she said casually. "I would recommend going to take a look at one of these rifts."

"Oh yeah?" Yusuke asked, his voice too loud for the room they were in. "And just how are we supposed to find one, grandma?"

"Actually," Botan broke in, "I might be able to help with that." She held up a small device that looked like a wristwatch and smiled mischievously. "I had your demon compass modified to sense dimensional disturbances, Yusuke."

Yusuke frowned, leaning back and crossing his arms. "You coulda mentioned that before now, Botan!"

Botan pouted. "Well, I'm sorry, but it didn't really come up until now. Honestly! I don't know how Keiko puts up with you! Keiko's Yusuke's girlfriend, by the way," she added for Shiki's benefit.

Shiki allowed herself a small smile. "I supposed as much."

"If we're done discussing trivialities, perhaps we should actually do something," sniped Hiei, standing up. "Or am I going by myself?"

Kurama raised an eyebrow. "Eager to get started, are we, Hiei?" A half-smile crossed his face.

"Hn. Better than sitting around listening to humans talk about irrelevant things."

"Very well. We shall go then. Thank you very much for the tea, Aoyama-san."

"Er… not at all." She bowed as they all left the room, then collected the teacups. Genkai remained seated for a time, seemingly lost in thought, whilst Botan and Koenma carried on a separate conversation about something Shiki didn't understand.

Returning to the kitchen, she found Yukina busy ladling stew into bowls, humming something to herself as she worked.

"Oh, Yukina-san. Several of the guests just left. I don't think they'll be back before that gets cold." When the girl's face fell, Shiki cast around for something to cheer her up. "Koenma-sama and Botan-san are still here though! And we can always make something else later. I'll help out, okay?"

Yukina smiled. "Okay. That sounds nice. But I think Genkai's calling for you, Shiki."

Shiki paused, and sure enough, she could hear the old woman's voice. "Excellent hearing you have there. I'll be seeing you then!" She dashed out of the room and toward the voice.

* * *

"Right," Genkai said, an edge of irritation in her voice. "While you are here, please remember that you are _not_ running a ryokan. You are my student, and you are entitled to a place in those discussions you are invited to. I didn't realize asking you to make the tea would turn you into a servant."

Shiki was taken aback. It wasn't like she'd gone out of her way to behave as such; it was just natural for her to treat people as customers. When she tried explaining as much to Genkai, the old woman shook her head.

"Surely there are senior students at the geezer's dojo? Treat them like that if you must, but this is my house, and you are my guest. I'm not the kind of person who makes someone else do everything for me."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Just fix it. Now," she continued, effectively ending that part of the discussion. "Your grandfather informs me that he has taught you hand-to-hand and staff fighting. Is this correct?"

Something in the old woman's tone seemed dismissive, and Shiki's ire stirred to hear Jii-chan belittled so. She suppressed it and smiled graciously.

"Yes, Genkai-sensei. Jii-chan has instructed me in many forms and styles; his dojo is mixed martial arts." She kept her tone light, remembering that her new teacher was doing her a favor by offering free instruction.

"Hn," was Genkai's only response. She sized up the practice room. It would do for now. Later, she might have to move the training outside. "I suppose your staff is wooden."

It wasn't really a question, but Shiki was confused enough to respond. "Yes, it's a wooden jo staff."

Without responding, Genkai made her way over to a door in the corner of the room and opened it. From what Shiki could see, it appeared to be some kind of weapons storage room. Her new teacher disappeared inside for a few minutes; just as Shiki was about to go see if she needed assistance, she reappeared, holding what looked like a metal pipe of about a foot in length.

"Here." Genkai tossed the pipe, and Shiki caught it deftly. Upon closer examination, the pipe appeared to be nothing more than a smooth cylinder of metal, though it wasn't hollow as she had initially suspected.

"What's this?" Shiki asked curiously, turning it over in her hand.

"It's a staff," came the simple reply.

"But it's-" Shiki was cut off before she could finish her protest.

"You change it into something you can actually use through the application of spirit energy. Metal is a much better conduit than wood; it's also more likely to last in a fight against a sword."

"A sword? Why would I be fighting someone with a sword? And what's spirit energy?" The questions were out of Shiki's mouth before she could consider how ignorant they made her seem.

Genkai sighed. The girl really _was _uninitiated. She wondered why the old man hadn't bothered to teach her at least this much. "Spirit energy is what gives you the ability to see demons. It is as much a part of you as the energy that keeps your heart beating. It also has numerous other applications, such as the one I am going to teach you." The other question she left unanswered, though Shiki was too caught up in the flow of new information to notice.

"First thing's first," Genkai continued. "You have to learn how to focus that energy. Now, concentrate."

* * *

"Well, this is new," remarked Yusuke.

Kurama nodded and leaned in closer to inspect the anomaly. It only appeared odd when viewed from an angle straight on. Otherwise, it seemed like a mere shimmer in the air, and from the side it wasn't visible at all. When looked at properly, though, it was clearly a window to the Demon World. He could see a forest through it, one that clearly housed no birds or deer.

He straightened, stepping back. "I wonder what's causing them," he mused aloud. He noticed Hiei frown, and the fire apparition stepped forward, reaching out to touch the portal. His arm, rather than going through to the other side, was stopped by something unseen. His eyebrows furrowed in concentration. He drew his sword and attempted to slash at it, but the blade behaved no differently than if he had moved it through ordinary air, and the window was unaffected.

A thought occurred to Kurama. "Kuwabara, please try your dimension sword."

"Huh?"

"Perhaps if you cut it, it will be disrupted."

"How do you figure that?" The high-schooler protested.

Yusuke looked sidelong at Kurama. He had that look on his face again, the one that meant he was really close to figuring something out, but not quite there yet. "Just do it, moron," he told his friend.

"Jeez, Urameshi, you don't gotta be such a jerk about it. Fine." Kuwabara focused, forming the dimension sword in his mind before allowing it to take shape in his hand. Gripping it tightly, he stabbed at the center of the window. He encountered some resistance, but pushed against it; his effort was rewarded when he felt something give. The edges of the window wavered, and Kuwabara withdrew his blade just as it closed off completely.

"Hmm." Kurama appeared to have solved whatever mystery had been eluding him, but he didn't say anything further. Yusuke trusted him enough not to ask questions yet, and so the four of them turned back toward Genkai's temple.


	3. Chapter 3: Discovery

_Insert standard disclaimer here._

* * *

Shiki's breath escaped her in a great _whoosh_ as Genkai's blow landed squarely on her stomach. She staggered backwards, struggling to remain upright, gasping for air to refill her lungs.

She had anticipated the blow, been ready to block it. But for some reason, her spirit energy had given out and her staff had reverted to the small metal tube it had once been.

Genkai jumped back, landing gracefully a few feet away. By now, this was routine. The girl's energy was formidable, but almost completely unusable. Genkai suspected she knew the reason. If she was right, it was something Shiki would just have to learn to deal with.

"Again," she said tersely.

Shiki nodded, not wanting to waste energy on words. With a great effort, she wrestled to gain control of her spirit energy, and then force it into the staff again. To her slight satisfaction, it lengthened until it was about her own height. She took a deep breath and settled into a combat stance, ready to give it another go. Genkai's gaze flicked upwards, and she appeared to be crouching lower than she had previously. She would likely attack from the air, Shiki decided.

Sure enough, the older woman launched herself upwards, intending to land a kick to the back of the student's skull. She was only mildly surprised at the shadow of a smile that passed across the girl's face as she swung her staff to block, forcing her new master to change direction in mid-air, something that was difficult even for her.

Even less to Genkai's surprise was the fact that she failed to press her advantage. A few well-placed blows at her obviously unbalanced opponent would have been enough to fell most. If the girl was shrewd enough to anticipate an aerial attack, she surely knew this as well. And yet she did not attack. Genkai decided it was time to teach her a lesson about real battle.

"You should never fail to press an advantage, child," she said, launching herself forward again, her blows raining down too fast for Shiki to block them all. "You will not survive long if you forfeit what opportunities you manage to get." This last was accompanied by a fake to the girl's left shoulder, followed by a sharp rap to the hip, which clearly caught her off-guard. The staff lost its extension once again, and Shiki was forced to retreat when Genkai did not jump back as she had before.

Trying to focus spirit energy while simultaneously engaging in physical combat was much more difficult then she had anticipated. Trying to force both an opponent and herself into submission at the same time didn't seem possible. For the moment at least, Shiki abandoned the prospect of a weapon and turned to meet Genkai in hand-to-hand. But the old woman merely smirked, and Shiki was too late to realize her mistake. Her staff's reach had been her only advantage; Genkai was clearly going to be better in a fight where only fists and feet were involved.

Berating herself internally, Shiki ducked, dodged, and blocked as many of the blows as she could, but the effort was quickly proving futile. Just where did all of her teacher's energy come from? Not even Jii-chan was this vigorous. Then again, Genkai wasn't fighting her granddaughter. Despite the numerous bruises she would be sporting the next day, Shiki was glad of this at least. Someone was treating her as nothing more than an opponent.

Genkai noticed as a glint made its way into her pupil's dark blue eyes and smiled inwardly. She remembered a time when she herself had first begun to truly embrace a challenge. There was nothing quite like it. She had to give the girl credit; she was making fairly swift progress, though Genkai suspected this had something to do with a certain meddling old man. Several things about her style were already perfect for one who would need to fight in the real world. She had no showy dojo-style elements in her attacks, for a start. Everything was choreographed to be as efficient as possible. Now she needed to learn how to control her energy properly. Once that happened, she would be ready.

Genkai realized that the fight was dragging, and her student was becoming slick with sweat. Her bangs sticking to her face, and a very noticeable heat flush spread across the bridge of her nose to her cheeks. It was probably best to give her a break. With that in mind, Genkai delivered a series of powerful strikes to her abdomen, leaving her doubled over on the ground.

"That's enough for now," she said simply. "You should go get cleaned up."

* * *

Shiki cursed her fool head. What on earth had possessed her to relinquish her weapon like that? She had set the pipe, as she referred to it in her head, on her futon as she had left to shower. Now in her school uniform (the only other clothes she had with her), she sat on the floor and stared at it. Something told her it shouldn't be this difficult. Maybe she was just bad at it. _Whatever the reason, _she mused to herself, _I've got to try harder. _She shook her head. It had been only a week, but still. The amount of energy required to extend the staff was miniscule. It was bending the energy flow with her will that was proving difficult.

She was stirred by a knock on her door. Standing and swiftly walking over to it, she was mildly surprised to find Yukina standing there. Of course, she immediately assembled her features into something resembling tranquility.

"Yukina-chan. Can I help you with something?" The two had become rather fast friends. Much to Shiki's surprise, she spent most of her afternoons sitting with Yukina and Botan. At least when she wasn't training. They were quite knowledgeable about the Demon and Spirit Worlds, respectively.

Yukina smiled. "Actually, Genkai wants to see you. The others are all back, you see."

Shiki blinked. She hadn't expected them to arrive so soon. When they had come back from the initial exploration, it had seemed that whatever they saw stirred more questions than answers. The next few days had been much the same. So about four days ago, they had split up into teams to explore the disturbances from the different worlds, presumably to see if they were any different. She had expected this to take at least a week or so.

"Okay. Thanks, Yukina-chan. I'll be right out." Shiki paused to check herself in the mirror briefly, just to make sure she wasn't a total wreck. She frowned. Her long hair was still wet, and dark circles were becoming visible under her eyes. She sighed, deciding it didn't matter much anyway, and followed Yukina down the hall.

* * *

Hiei tapped his fingers on his knee impatiently. Yusuke and the oaf were arguing pointlessly again, while Koenma and the ferry girl stuffed their faces with rice balls, no doubt the handiwork of Yukina and that other person. He looked pointedly at Kurama, but the other demon just continued to calmly observe everything. If he was aware of Hiei's agitation (and Hiei was certain this was the case), he did not show it. The old woman was in a similar state of silence.

At this rate, he would have been better off staying in Demon World. Something in Kurama's expression had made him reconsider when the two had been there a few days ago. The fox only looked like that when something big was coming, and Hiei was impatient to find out what, exactly, that was. Truth be told, he'd been itching for a good fight since the first Makai Tournament. He was sick of playing benevolent shepherd to lost humans. But this was still going nowhere fast.

He smoothed is face into an impassive mask as Yukina and the other one entered the room. He also forced his fingers to stop moving. Yukina seemed to be doing well, at least. She sat next to the human with a smile on her face, the two apparently just having finished a conversation. Hiei personally didn't understand it, but supposed it didn't matter, as long as she was well.

His lip curled with barely-repressed disgust as the oaf stopped talking to Yusuke in order to greet her enthusiastically. She replied politely, but Genkai called for silence by clearing her throat.

"Well," she began. "Have we figured out what's causing the disturbances?"

Hiei shot a look at Kurama, who appeared to be choosing his words carefully before he spoke, a small frown on his face.

"I have a hypothesis." At the questioning looks of the others, he continued. "These disturbances are not random occurrences, but are being consciously caused by something."

"We kinda figured that," interrupted Yusuke rather pointedly.

Hiei rolled his eyes. It was obvious Kurama wasn't finished, why bother interrupting? He looked around the room. Everyone had their eyes on Yusuke, he noticed, except for the human girl. She had a perplexed expression, and was almost certainly directing it at her teacher. His observations were interrupted when Kurama spoke again.

"Further, I believe that whomever is responsible currently resides in the Demon World."

On a hunch, Hiei looked at Genkai, who was nodding almost imperceptibly. The old woman clearly knew something she wasn't saying. What she didn't know was that at least two people had already caught on, and if Hiei knew the fox, three. The question was, what did she know?


	4. Chapter 4: Intruders

_The good stuff doesn't belong to me._

* * *

The night air was relatively cool. Shiki had left the room as the occupants began discussing strategy. It didn't really have much to do with her, she had decided, and she still needed more practice with her staff.

Thus, she had wound up sitting on the outside of the house, but still under the roof. She was practicing expanding and retracting the pipe, trying to master the flow of energy within herself. Contrary to her wishes, this seemed to grow more difficult with time rather than easier. Releasing a frustrated sigh, she opened her eyes.

"Having trouble?" The voice was soft, but alarmingly close. She started sharply, and turned to see her senpai sitting not three feet from her, facing the same direction. She was troubled that he'd been able to get that close without her being aware of it, and made a mental note to try and remain aware of her surroundings even when focusing on a single task.

He raised an eyebrow, and she realized his question had been several seconds without an answer. "Ah. Er…yes, actually," she managed, looking down at the piece of metal in her hand.

"What seems to be the problem?"

She pursed her lips. "It… it's really hard to make it work. The energy just… I try to make it go someplace, and it doesn't want to. Or something." She colored slightly. "It's probably the easiest thing in the world, but I don't think I'm suited to it," she finished, feeling slightly ashamed.

Kurama shook his head. "Mastering oneself is crucial, but it is never easy. Might I make a suggestion?"

She looked up at him, meeting his eyes easily. "Of course."

"Don't try to force it. Think about how you would react if someone tried to push you through a door with muscle alone. You would resist, would you not?" At her nod, he continued. "But if someone asked you to come in or gave you a good reason to do so, you probably would."

She frowned, brows furrowing. "I'm supposed to talk to my inner self?" Her tone was skeptical. "How do I manage that one?"

"You already do so on a daily basis, I would imagine." He waited as the expressions on her face shifted, and a small smile appeared on his face as he saw her realize the answer.

"Like meditation?"

He nodded slowly. "Precisely. Why don't you try it?"

"Okay." She stood, moving out into the yard in front of them. He watched with mild curiosity as she settled into her stance. He had to admit, even he hadn't known that one of his classmates was spiritually aware. This was most unusual for him, and he wondered why there had been no previous sign of the spirit energy that now moved in subtle currents within her. She appeared to focus quite intently, brows knitting together and a small frown creasing her face.

She seemed to struggle for a few heartbeats, then remembered his words and smoothed out her features, relaxing. Just like that, the staff was enveloped in an indigo light, and extended a good five feet or so. She opened her eyes and stared at it for a few moments until a small smile alighted on her face. The sides of Kurama's mouth twitched as he stood.

"Thank you-" She cut off abruptly, unsure of how to address him. He seemed to understand though, and waved a hand dismissively.

"Kurama is fine, but please still call me Shuichi at school," he said.

Shiki was slightly confused; she had never actually called him either of these things, but if that's what he preferred… "Then thank you, Kurama-san."

He nodded simply in response and headed inside.

* * *

Shiki hummed a little to herself as she scrubbed the last of the dishes from that evening's meal. While Genkai was displeased with her "servile" mannerisms, she did not seem to deny anyone who volunteered to do a few chores. Not that Shiki blamed her; having this many guests for dinner so often left many of them to do.

"Well, you certainly seem to be in good spirits today," Botan commented cheerily, dumping a few more items into the sink.

"I am," she replied. "I feel like I've finally turned a corner in my training."

Botan sighed. "You really are quite like those boys. Always talking about training. You'd think it was all there is to life."

Shiki shrugged noncommittally. What else was she supposed to discuss with Botan? School? She snorted with amusement at the thought. Now _that _would be an interesting conversation.

As Botan left, she redoubled her efforts on a particularly stubborn stew pot. Whatever had been in the bottom hadn't been stirred often enough, and was now a burnt mess. Shaking her head, she put some elbow grease into it, and was rewarded when the bottom rinsed spotlessly.

Her satisfaction was interrupted by a shriek from the living room. It sounded like Botan. Pulling her hands from the warm water, she reached for where the pipe was fastened to her waist. The idea had been Genkai's, though why the old woman wanted her carrying her weapon at all times had been a mystery.

Slowly and carefully she made her way down the hall. The door to the living room was cracked, so she flattened herself against the opposite wall and carefully peered inside.

The scene that met her eyes was strange indeed. A tall man with close-cropped blond hair was holding Botan aloft by the neck of her kimono. Although the others were all present, for some curious reason nobody was moving to help her. Instead, they all seemed to be frozen in place. Hiei's hand was on his sword hilt, and about three inches of the blade was already visible where he had started to draw. Genkai was crouched on the ground, looking as though she were about to launch an attack of some kind. The others were not visible.

Clearly, it would be a stupid idea to just run straight into whatever was immobilizing them. Shiki bit her lip. If she didn't find an alternative before long, she might have to anyway, before they hurt Botan. She stilled her racing mind and listened as a voice reached her ears.

"Where is she?" It asked calmly. The voice was a light tenor, and carried venom in its tone. Whoever the voice belonged to was also beyond her line of sight, meaning that there were at least two strangers in the room.

"Where is who?" Botan asked, her voice too high-pitched. She laughed nervously.

"Come now," replied the voice. "We have your friends all tied up here. Surely you don't want to be responsible for anything that might…happen to them, do you?" The threat was an obvious one, and it seemed to work on Botan. She was opening her mouth to say something when Yusuke spoke.

"Don't tell 'em anything Botan!" He seemed to be struggling to speak.

"Silence, fool, or the bonds will suffocate you all the faster."

_Suffocate? _If they were being constricted somehow, then she had no time to waste. While she was sitting here thinking, they were all slowly dying!

She carefully focused her energy, just as Kurama had told her, and let it flow into her staff. As soon as it had activated, she slammed the door open and charged into the room, catching the big blond one on the side of his head, causing him to release Botan with a grunt. She followed up with a blow to the stomach and then one to his now-empty left arm, flowing through the sequence of movements Jii-chan had taught her.

The small room was not her friend, however, and though she seemed to have knocked out the blond man, the other, a black-haired man of medium build, was quick to rush her. He was too close to strike with her staff, so she tossed it aside and threw a punch. He was too fast, however, and easily dodged.

"Hm. Your spirit energy was too insignificant for me to notice you. Rest assured I will not make the same mistake again." He followed this statement with an open-handed blow to the side of her head, which left her reeling. He then placed a hand around her neck and lifted her off the floor. She kicked at him, but to no avail.

He raised an eyebrow. "Pitiful. To think that it ended up with you." With those words, he began to mutter in some language she didn't know, still holding her aloft. She was about ready to sink into unconsciousness when a searing pain in her chest forced her awake again. The bizarre chanting had stopped, and there was now a glowing light coming from his palm, which hovered inches above her heart.

Shiki tried to scream, but found that the pain was too great even for that. It felt as if she was being stabbed with a white-hot knife. At last it subsided into a dull ache and she barely registered that the man held a small black object in his hand. It was round, about the size of a golf ball, she supposed, with a strange mark upon its surface.

Smirking, the man released his hold on Shiki, sending her to the ground in a heap.

"And now, my invisible strands of fate shall strangle your precious friends. It will be fun to watch, don't you think?"

Shiki's mind was fogged, and her thoughts jumbled. _Invisible? So why can I see them? _This at least was true, there were threads running from under his clothes to the others, clearly holding them in place. _Perhaps… I should cut them? No, I don't have a knife…_ She willed her mind to work faster, struggling against the blackness at the edge of her vision. _I don't have a knife, but… someone has a sword. But who? _Then it hit her. _Hiei. Yes, he has one. But he's stuck. Maybe…_

She reached to her side, ignoring her body's protests, and grabbed a handful of strings with her hands. _Maybe if I just get him some slack. _With all her might, she yanked the threads toward her, feeling them cut into her flesh. The man was jerked forward a few steps, and when she let go, there was indeed some slack in the lines. _I hope he knows what I'm doing, _she thought absently. But before she could find out, her body at last succumbed to its weakness, and she fell the rest of the way to the floor.


	5. Chapter 5: Revelation

_Not mine._

* * *

The Tale of Kurogami

_Eons ago, when the world was still young, long before the memory of anyone who lives today, there existed two relics of incredible power. They were two stones, one white and one black. It was said that the gods themselves had cut them from a blazing star and the blackest night sky. They were created to give living creatures the ability to become better, stronger versions of themselves._

_The first was called the Akuma Stone. Pitch-black and radiating only shadow, it was a device of the darkness in people's souls. Not all darkness is evil, but one must always be careful. The ambitious, the crafty, and yes, the greedy and selfish all made use of this stone to increase their might, though only one can benefit at a time.._

_The second was called the Tenshi Stone. Because the universe exists in balance, where there is darkness, there must also be light. The Tenshi stone was used to help others become more than they had been, and required a heart bent on love and protection to use. The wielder may not use it on themselves, but may split its benefits among as many as they wish._

_They were made this way in an attempt to keep them from being misused, but the makers surely underestimated the evil in some hearts. For one day, a demon named Kurogami heard of the stones and decided to steal them for himself. Once both were in his power, he discovered that no person may control both. Faced with a choice, he chose the Akuma Stone, and gave the other to his foremost advisor, Yuki. He then made to conquer the world._

_But power has unpredictable effects on people. Lady Yuki saw the lord and friend she loved transformed into something she could not stand. Kurogami was no longer himself. The darkness had corrupted his soul. So Yuki, too, made a choice. She used the power of the Tenshi stone to raise an army of her own, and with it, sought to conquer Kurogami._

_When he learned of the betrayal, Kurogami grew enraged. He gave his soul over to the darkness entirely, and allowed it to consume him. When Yuki and her army reached his throne room, she saw him thus, and ran towards him, thinking only to save him. His sword pierced her heart even as she snatched the stone away from him. Her gem neutralized its power, and he returned to himself to find his lifelong friend dead. _

_He mourned her for three years before succumbing to death himself. The Akuma Stone had consumed too much of his soul, and he was not allowed to pass through Spirit World. Instead, what remains of him is sealed somewhere in the deepest recesses of Demon World, waiting. _

* * *

_She is surrounded by darkness, unable to see even her hand in front of her nose. That is, if the hand is even there at all. She tries to touch her face, just to be sure, but finds that nothing happens. There is no sensation, no response to the desire to move. She is empty, hollow. Something that once was there is gone, and it left nothing behind. Strange that she had never noticed its presence. One of those things that is significant only when absent, then. Someone… someone once told her that life was like that. Or perhaps not._

_The realization that something is missing makes her cold, somehow. Or at least, she would have shivered if she had known sensation. Instead, the chill creeps over her consciousness. The worst part is that she isn't even sure what it is that lacks. Perhaps it doesn't matter. Or perhaps… perhaps it is the only thing that matters. _

_The thought panics her lonely mind, and she rages against the emptiness. _Give it back!_ Without fists to bang or a voice to yell with, the thought fades, leaving only the same empty feeling as before._

**Why do you want it back?**

_She isn't sure where the thought came from, only that it is somehow hers, and also someone else's. "_Because… I feel empty without it."

**Then find something else to fill yourself with. Half of what you were remains. Build upon that, and make yourself into what you are truly supposed to be. Then, when all falls out from underneath you, you will be ready to stand on your own.**

* * *

Shiki woke with a start, sitting bolt upright on her futon. Her dream had been startling, that was certain. But somehow, she couldn't remember it at all. _Strange._ She swiftly put it out of her mind as more urgent thoughts rose to the surface. _I passed out and then… _She rose from her bed and looked around. She was in her room in Genkai's residence, still wearing her uniform. _But how…?_

Her musings were interrupted as Kurama entered the room, holding a small tray with an onigiri and some tea. "I thought you might be about to wake. Here, Yukina made this for you. She thought you might be hungry."

Shiki realized she was starving and opened her mouth to say as much, but found that she couldn't muster much more than a croak. She closed her mouth and nodded instead, bowing a thanks she could not speak.

Three hastily-consumed rice balls and two cups of hot tea with honey later, she found her hunger had subsided and her voice had returned. She looked at Kurama, who had been watching her eat with a degree of amusement. His face sobered.

"What happened?"

He sighed. "We were attacked, quite simply. Taken by surprise. The one in charge

held us immobile while the other tried to pry information from the weakest person in the room. You know most of the rest of it. After the demon attacked you, Hiei managed to cut the bonds holding us in place." He paused, and then continued. "They made a tactical retreat. I can only assume that whatever they took from you was the goal anyway, so there was no need for them to stay."

Shiki looked down at the teacup in her hands. "That thing they took… what was it?"

Kurama's brows furrowed. "You mean you do not know?" When she just looked at him with a blank expression, he frowned slightly. "No, I suppose not. I have a feeling we are all going to find out shortly, however. Your grandfather is here, and he wishes to speak with you when you have recovered. So rest a bit more, and then we will see what he has to say." He made as if to leave the room.

She shook her head slowly. "No need. I'm fine now. And I think finding out what's happening is a bit more important than a few hours' sleep."

Kurama doubted that she was fully recovered, but kept his face impassive as she stood on wobbly legs and headed to the central room. Sighing inwardly, he followed after her. For someone so polite, she was really was quite stubborn.

* * *

Hiei watched the two of them enter the room. _Finally._ He noticed that the girl seemed a bit unsteady on her feet. He shot a look at Kurama, who gave the tiniest resigned shrug.

"Is everyone here?" asked the old woman.

"Yeah, grandma, we're here. You gonna tell us what the Hell's going on now?" Yusuke couldn't have masked his impatience even if he had wanted to. For once, Hiei sympathized. He did not enjoy being attacked for no discernable reason. At least not when he couldn't fight back. _If the girl hadn't loosened the puppeteer's hold_… he didn't relish finishing the thought. She was looking at the old man sitting next to Genkai. Right. Wasn't he related? _Whatever._ He glanced around at the others. The idiot was twitching, or something, and Koenma's face peered out from that briefcase thing the ferry woman always carried around.

Interrupting his thoughts, the old man spoke. "I am Takahashi Shin'ichi. It is good to meet you all, though perhaps the circumstances are less than ideal." He spoke lightly, cracking a smile. Hiei's eyes narrowed. Now was hardly the time. But then he noticed the girl relax, and understood.

The old man appeared to sober somewhat, and took to fingering his goatee thoughtfully without speaking. Finally, his voice could be heard again. "I'm not really sure how to go about this. How to tell you what you need to know."

"Perhaps you should start at the beginning," suggested Kurama quietly.

The old man looked at him for a few seconds, seeming to study him closely, then nodded slowly. "I suppose the beginning's as good a place as any." He folded his arms in front of his chest and tilted his head towards the ceiling, as though trying to remember something.

"There are many varieties of apparition. All of them possess their own unique strengths and weaknesses. Fire apparitions are excellent in combat, ice apparitions are skilled in the healing arts. Water apparitions are different again. I suppose it is with them that it begins.

Water apparitions are unique in that their strength lies in defense. As a species, they are not very aggressive, but still there are few who would dare attack their settlements. Individuals are also coveted as bodyguards on the demon slave markets." He paused, and a something inscrutable passed across his face before he continued.

"Essentially, if you want something protected, there are few better to ask than a water apparition, though you'll have a beast of a time trying to find one."

"The man giving the orders… he was one of these water apparitions, was he not?" _Typical Kurama, always three steps ahead_. Hiei studied the Kurama's face carefully, but as usual, it was largely expressionless. If the two hadn't known each other for as long as they had, he may have missed the troubled glint in the fox's eyes. Hiei frowned slightly. Kurama was putting things together, and not liking the results.

"From what Genkai told me, yes. Water apparitions generally have that sort of appearance. But this is where the story diverges, and intersects with another, older tale." He looked at Kurama directly. "Perhaps you have heard of Kurogami?"

It was Hiei who responded. "Kurogami? Don't lie to us, old man. Kurogami is a tale to scare demon children and spineless fools."

Takahashi turned slightly to face Hiei, and something in his expression gave the fire apparition pause. "I used to think the same. I've studied demon lore for a number of years, and nothing had given me cause to believe the tales."

"Uh… hello? Someone wanna fill me in here?" Yusuke sounded cross; Kuwabara just nodded empathetically, looking confused.

"Kurogami is an ancient demon lord, supposedly the strongest that ever lived. He was said to possess the power of gods in the form of two magic gems, and it was this same power that was his undoing," Botan chirped informatively.

"There's a bit more to it than that, but your friend is essentially correct," continued Takahashi. "As I said, I never believed it either. Not until I met Mizuki."

This seemed to stir the girl. She became suddenly alert, and looked up suddenly from where she had been placidly gazing at her hands.

"My wife, Mizuki, also knew a great deal about demon lore and legend. We met in university, and it was quite by accident that we discovered this about each other. Neither of us ever worked for Spirit World's government as such-" he nodded towards the screen where Koenma was watching silently. "-but we did deal with the occasional disturbance in our area. I was dealing with a particularly nasty B-class when she saved my life. Naturally, when we discovered that we were both spiritually aware, we began to work together."

Takahashi paused, apparently lost in old memories. The others gave him some time before Genkai could be heard clearing her throat.

"You're not done yet, old man."

His eyes snapped back into focus, and he sighed heavily. "No, I suppose not. Well, over the years, I learned a great deal about Mizuki. Some of it was… hard to digest. What matters most, though, is that the stories of Kurogami are at least partially true."

Botan spoke up. "That still doesn't explain anything that happened here."

Takahashi shook his head slowly, still staring at the floor. "After the downfall of Kurogami, the Stones were given to the water apparitions. For protection. Occasionally, someone would discover the truth of Kurogami's tale and come seeking them. The method used to protect the stones was harsh, but deemed necessary. The stones were kept together at all times, sealed within the heart of a water apparition child. This kept them hidden perfectly, but it also greatly reduced the child's spirit energy. Every generation, a new guardian was chosen. But even with all that… they were bound to fail eventually. The village was attacked by a particularly strong group of demons about three hundred years ago. The elders decided to split the tribe, and sent the child with the stones to a different world. Mizuki… Mizuki was that child. And so the stones were passed to her half human daughter, and her granddaughter after that."

"Then…" Botan trailed off, eyes wide. Everyone was looking at Shiki, whose face had become a mask of passivity. Hiei noticed that something in her eyes had gone hard, and the set of her jaw was firm.

"I see," she said simply. Shiki bowed to her grandfather, then continued. "I must go clear my thoughts. Farewell, Ojii-sama, Genkai-sensei." She stood, knuckles white on her staff, and exited gracefully.

"She's taking it pretty well," remarked Kuwabara, confused. "I think I'd be really ticked right about now."

The old man swallowed hard, and shook his head. "My granddaughter's anger is not like yours, then. If she burns, it is only because the ice has grown too cold."

Kuwabara looked even more confused, but Hiei understood. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly. This was getting interesting.


	6. Chapter 6: Resolve

_I am not the manga-ka, so I don't own any of this._

* * *

"What will you do?" Kurama was careful to keep his tone level; it was not his decision to make.

Shiki chewed slowly, thinking it over intently. They were eating lunch on the roof of the school, something Kurama found enjoyable. In the weeks that had passed since they had returned form the temple, this had become a shared custom. Nobody else seemed inclined to be up here, which meant he was able to relish in the quiet. Only his question had broken the silence. At length, his companion leveled her cool blue eyes at him and shook her head. "I don't know."

The brief exchange lapsed once again into silence. Neither of them was particularly keen to speak, but the silence was of a companionable sort, and there was no real need to fill it. _Still_, he reasoned, _I need an answer._ He was considering prodding her further when she began again of her own accord.

"I mean, I understand that people like that having possession of the stone can't be a good thing, but what are they even going to do with it? Besides, even if I went after them, I wouldn't be able to do anything. You saw what happened. That guy… I couldn't touch someone like him." She lost volume as she spoke, and were it not for his excellent hearing, Kurama doubted he would have heard her at all. Her eyes were fixed on the bento box in her lap, though she seemed to have lost her appetite, stowing her chopsticks and setting it aside.

Kurama cast about for something to say; Shiki was acting without her characteristic cheerfulness. Even the façade she so often resorted to in difficult situations was faltering, laying her insecurities bare. He wasn't accustomed to dealing with people who lacked confidence in their own abilities. On the contrary, he was much more used to tempering outright arrogance.

**Just tell her, Shuichi.** Youko's voice penetrated his thoughts. For all they were the same person, it was easy to tell when Youko's sensibilities were making themselves known. Still, he supposed his more ruthless side had a point; Shiki was logical enough, perhaps all she needed was more information.

"Are you all right?" Shiki was looking at him curiously. "Just now, you seemed… different somehow. Is something wrong?"

"I am well, thank you," Kurama replied, smoothly arranging his features into a smile. Shiki's eyes narrowed; she seemed unconvinced. "You must decide on your own, of course. But I do not think that your concerns about your strength should be what makes the decision. You are untrained, yet. With a few more weeks under Genkai, it would not be as much of a problem as you think. Besides, it is not as though you would be journeying alone."

"Hmm…" was her only reply. She seemed rather intent on studying the roof tile directly before her, and Kurama sighed inwardly. He respected her, this child. She had been thrown from the familiar entirely, endured great pain and still had the fortitude to save them all. Yet she could not be brought to believe that she was anything other than a convenient vessel for some ancient artifacts. He wondered what kind of life she could have led, to have been convinced so thoroughly of her own insignificance.

"It's not as bad as you think," she said, and for a moment, Kurama was startled, thinking that he must have spoken his thoughts aloud. "I know I'm not all that strong, but I'm not scared or anything. I fight people stronger than me every day. I'm just… I don't really know what I'm getting myself into, do I?"

Kurama recovered from his surprise swiftly and shook his head gently. "The demon realm is… certainly different. But you need not worry about that. We all know our way around fairly well." He thought back to the last time he had been to Makai and almost chuckled at the absurdity of his own understatement.

Before Shiki could reply, the bell rang, signaling that it was time to return to class. They stood, and she gathered up her half-eaten lunch. Kurama held the door open, and she moved to walk through it, but then stopped and turned around.

"Thank you," she said softly, then hurried down the stairs.

_You're welcome, _he thought, knowing that she was to far away to hear him if he spoke.

**Coward,** hissed Youko. **You could have told her. She would have believed you.**

_It matters not. We will see soon enough if I am right._

* * *

Genkai's eyes narrowed, and she made no effort to hide her growing irritation as the conflict dragged on. Somewhat against her better judgment, she had accompanied Takahashi back down the mountain. The goal of the past week or so had been to convince the girl's parents (or, more specifically, her mother,) to allow her to take up residence in the temple for training over the school break. Shiki's father was against it on principle; apparently he did not like the idea of his daughter being anything other than a timid okami-in-training.

Genkai snorted inwardly. _Unfortunately for him, it's far too late for that._ The mother's objection was somewhat more reasonable. She knew there was more to this arrangement than she was being told, which was true. So, Takahashi had arranged for the three of them and Shiki herself to meet privately. To his dismay, it wasn't going as smoothly as he had expected.

For her part, Genkai was largely silent. This wasn't really her affair, though she had some stake in the results. Her pupil was likewise silent, though whether because she had no opinion or because she chose not to reveal it, Genkai could only guess. Perhaps it was something else entirely.

That left the old man and his daughter to fight it out.

"Absolutely not!" Ayaka, at least, seemed to have no difficulty asserting herself. "There is no way I will allow my daughter to put herself in that kind of danger!"

"Aya, you are allowing your feelings to obscure your logic," replied the old man stoically. Genkai silently approved of the tactic; turning this into a shouting match would do nobody any good.

"Logic? Where's the logic in letting Shiki go to Makai and get killed?" Her tone was sharp, but at least she had stopped yelling.

The four of them were arranged around the Aoyama's dining table, Genkai and Takahashi opposite Shiki and Ayaka, respectively. This gave Genkai an opportunity to observe the girl's reactions to the conversation. Not that she showed much. She seemed to be elsewhere with her own thoughts, and her face was largely impassive.

"She has to do this. You know as well as I do the danger the stone poses. The other one is the only way to stop it."

"Then take it out and give it to someone else. Please, father!" Ayaka was becoming slightly hysterical, something that Genkai judged to be out-of-character, since it seemed to stir her daughter from whatever state she was in.

"You know we can't do that. The stones should only be removed when another host is ready for them. A forced removal now would be too much strain on her body."

Ayaka just shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. _Oh, wonderful,_ thought Genkai. This wasn't getting them anywhere.

"So you don't think I could do it then." Shiki's voice was flat, and she looked at her mother with deadened eyes.

Ayaka recoiled as if stricken, clearly surprised by the girl's demeanor. She looked as if she were trying to say something, but Shiki spared her the effort.

"I know I'm not a genius like Ichirou or beautiful like Emi," she began. There was no bitterness to her tone, just a matter-of-factness that was rather unnerving, as though she accepted this as absolute truth. "But I can fight. Other people-" and here she paused, before continuing haltingly. "Other people think I can, too. And- it's not like I'll be going alone. But, it really can't be stopped without the other stone, can it? So I have to. I'm going. I'd like it if you let me, but I'll go even if you don't. Because- because I must." The speech appeared to have taken a great effort, and Genkai imagined that Shiki had been fighting her own instinct to obey every step of the way.

For a long moment, there was naught but silence. At first, Ayaka appeared shocked, then horrified, then confused, but at length a small, sad smile settled on her features. "I suppose if I no longer have the power to stop you, I've no choice but to believe in you, do I? Go, and do what you must. I will be here when you return."

Shiki nodded and stood abruptly, visibly shaking. She and Takahashi made it out the door, but Ayaka took Genkai's arm before the latter could follow. Genkai raised an eyebrow, inviting the half-apparition to explain herself.

"She's wrong. That daughter of mine… she's always been stronger than any of us. That's why the stones were transferred to her. I was… too weak to keep them any longer. It tore me to see her burdened with them, but… I had no choice if I wished to live and protect them. But my child… I think I may have protected her too much. She has never fought my will like that." Ayaka's voice was strange, a mix of wonder and perhaps bitterness.

Genkai scoffed. "So you blame yourself because she's the perfect doormat?"

Ayaka shook her head, unoffended by the older woman's rudeness. "She's a gentle spirit. I worry that she won't be able to stand up for herself. But just then, she did. I suspect you and your friends are the reason. Thank you." The last was delivered with unrestrained sincerity, and Genkai found herself at a loss for a caustic comeback. No child should be raised that way, and yet… perhaps there was more at play here than she knew. She simply nodded, and Ayaka relinquished her arm.

"Please, protect her." The woman whispered to the air as Genkai left.

* * *

"Everyone ready?" Yusuke asked impatiently, directing the question at the assembled group. The majority nodded, Shiki made some quiet response and Hiei just glared at him. The six of them were each carrying a small bag of belongings but nothing else. He, Kuwabara, Kurama, Hiei, Botan, and Shiki were making an excursion into Makai. With no idea how long it would take or what they'd be facing, it had seemed wisest to pack lightly. Genkai, Shiki's grandfather and Yukina stood a ways off, having just bid them farewell.

At the less-than enthusiastic response, Yusuke frowned slightly. This was going to be a pain, that was for sure. "Well, let's go then." He turned around and headed directly for the portal. Hiei rolled his eyes and followed, Kuwabara and Botan close after. Shiki reached the portal next, but hesitated.

"Nervous?" came the unperturbed voice from behind her.

She nodded slightly, swallowing. "A little. Can't say I've ever been through a portal before."

Kurama smiled gently. "Then perhaps it would help if we went through together?" Without waiting for a response, he laid a hand lightly on her shoulder. "Shall we?"

She nodded, throat dry, and stepped into the rift between worlds.


	7. Chapter 7: Ambush

_If I said I owned it, I'd be a dirty liar._

* * *

She opened her eyes and found herself in a forest, surrounded by barren trees, their branches twisted and knotted into grotesque shapes. Behind her, she could see into the contrasting forest in her own world, verdant as it was wont to be in midsummer. She was aware of Kurama's hand leaving her shoulder, and she turned back around, hurrying to catch up with him and the rest of the group.

"Well, Botan, which way are we goin' here?" Yusuke asked pointedly. The group had decided to head for the ruins of the water apparitions' last known village. There, Genkai reasoned, they might find more information about the stones, and perhaps a hint as to the identity of the people who had taken one.

"Hmm… well, I think it's this way." She said, waving her arm vaguely in a northwesterly direction.

"You _think?_" sneered Hiei, glaring daggers at her.

"Ehe…well…no one _really _knows where it is, you see. Lord Koenma found a map, but couldn't take it out of the repository. Regulations you know."

Kuwabara's shoulders slumped slightly. He knew where this was going. "Botan, how many times did you look at the map?"

"Oh, you know… a few times…" At this, Kurama raised an eyebrow. "Okay, okay, more like one." She laughed, a high-pitched sound that meant she was nervous.

"Oh, great, so we're lost in the forest already," Yusuke snapped.

"We are most certainly _not_ lost," Botan countered empathetically. "We may have just… misplaced ourselves a little."

Yusuke mumbled something under his breath, but the others just shook their heads. It seemed like this was nothing new to them. Shiki bit her lip nervously. _If it's all going this badly already…_

Her thoughts were interru[ted by Kuwabara."Well, no use in standin' around here complainin' about it," he pronounced, trying to mediate somewhat. "Let's just pick a way and go."

"Yes, that's a brilliant idea," countered Hiei, eyes flashing. "Let's just wander off without any direction."

"Should we just go back through the portal and get directions?" Shiki asked practically.

"The portal already closed," pointed out Botan. She brought her index finger to her chin, lifting her eyes skyward.

"Perhaps we should start by going that way," Kurama suggested, pointing Northeast. "I can hear the sound of running water."

The others grumbled, but generally seemed to accept this as a decent plan. If they were looking for a water apparition settlement, it seemed wise to start by finding water.

"Hiei?" The fire apparition nodded and hopped up into the nearest tree, keeping a good hundred yards or so in front of the others. Kurama for his part watched the back of their group, leaving Yusuke to lead the walkers and the other three to occupy the middle.

Kuwabara sighed heavily, and Shiki looked over at him. He had his hands folded behind his head, and was covering the forest ground in long, lazy strides, leaving the much shorter Shiki to take two steps for each of them. Botan for her part was floating along on what appeared to be a boat oar, humming to herself. Shiki began to wonder if anything could temper her cheeriness.

"Are you okay?" Shiki asked Kuwabara.

"Huh? Me? I'm fine," he shrugged.

"Are you sure? You seemed awfully unhappy when we had to leave."

He didn't respond, but it seemed Botan had clued into their conversation, because she giggled.

"Kuwabara doesn't like being away from Yukina for too long," she snickered again when he shot her a glare.

Shiki nodded, this made sense. "She seemed sad to see you go too," she ventured, hoping to cheer him. This wasn't entirely untrue, either, though whether Yukina's apprehension had been for Kuwabara's sake or not was hard to tell.

"Really?" Kuwabara cracked a smile, and leaned toward her with an expression of such childlike eagerness that she felt the corners of her mouth tugging upwards.

"Really." The sensation of tension leaving the group was almost palpable. She would have tried the same with Yusuke or Hiei, but they were both otherwise occupied, not to mention a great deal more intimidating than affable Kuwabara.

* * *

"They come." Izumi's voice was impassive.

Kaito merely nodded. He had known this would happen. It made sense for them to come seeking information. It was just too bad that they would find an ambush instead. Truly, he didn't know why the Lord was bothering. It wasn't like this collection of low-class demons and humans could do any real harm. Then again, he supposed it was thinking like that which had toppled his Lordship's plans in the first place.

Keeping this in mind, he strode confidently to block their path. The first to arrive was the little fire apparition, the one who had severed his threads after the blood-traitor's granddaughter had caught him by surprise. Signaling to Izumi and Hirato, he chose to let them be noticed. Skulking around in the shadows did not suit his pride all that well.

"You," hissed the red-eyed demon.

Kaito smiled venomously. "You remember me? I'm flattered."

* * *

Hiei snarled and drew his sword. He wasn't going to be caught unarmed this time. His opponent, however, seemed unconcerned. He waved to someone behind him, and two others emerged from the trees.

The woman looked much like the leader. Both had the same features: angular jaws, fragile-looking noses and large ocean-blue eyes. They were the same height too. Aside from gender, the only thing that differentiated the pair was the length to which their coal-black hair was cut. The man wore his to his ears, and his sister's (as Hiei reasoned she must be) was cropped at the chin.

The other man had been at the temple as well. Decidedly more muscular than the other two, he was about Kuwabara's height and kept his blond hair much shorter. All three wore black stealth outfits, though the woman's impractical azure sash indicated that they weren't really all that concerned with remaining hidden.

It was she that stepped forward, hefting her own weapon, a large scythe that seemed far too large for her to wield effectively. Her brother waved her back. Hiei, however, was not one to wait when there was a fight to be had, and launched himself forward before he could be once again entangled in a web of binding threads.

Faster than was rightfully possible, the blond one was in his way, catching Hiei's blade between his hands. Hiei's eyes narrowed; he jumped backward just as the rest of the group caught up with him. If this guy could move fast enough to intercept _him_ of all people, than these fools may be something to be reckoned with after all.

"Now, now, I see no need to be like that," the leader said in an almost bored tone. "We haven't made any move to attack you yet, nor will we necessarily have to."

"Is that so?" Asked Yusuke disbelievingly. "And why the Hell should we believe you?"

The water apparition (as this was almost certainly what he was) sighed. "Perhaps we should start another way. I am Kaitou. This is Izumi-" he indicated the woman with the scythe- "and Hiroto. We work for someone who is… interested in the Stones."

"Interested?" Replied Yusuke. "You went to a whole lotta trouble for just being 'interested,' don't you think?" He crossed his arms. Frankly, Hiei was in complete agreement. There was no way these fools weren't enemies, so why did they bother with this charade?

"That was… an unfortunate mistake. We did not mean to harm anyone. Rather, our Lord requests that we entreat you to join us. Word of your various… exploits has reached his ears, and he is rather impressed. Such people are precisely the type our Lord wishes to have serve under him."

At this point, he was cut off by a visibly seething Kuwabara. "Like Hell we'd ever join you guys! You march into our world, steal something from Shiki, and try to kill all of us and you think we'll join you? What kinda stupid world do you live in anyway?" At this, he summoned his spirit sword to his hand and charged forward.

_Idiot,_ Hiei thought. _Did he learn nothing from what happened when I tried that?_

And indeed, the result was much the same. Hiroto blocked his path and sent him flying. Kuwabara tried again, but was repelled a second time.

"Perhaps I should have made myself more clear," said Kaito. "What I meant was, you will join us, or you will die."


	8. Chapter 8: Test

_A/N: I was recently informed by a coterie of lawyers that I do not, in fact, own YuYu Hakusho. Darn. _

_Also, this chapter goes to Beth, whose commentary on my drafts always makes me smile._

* * *

_Well, this is just great, _Yusuke thought dryly. He took a step back, slowing his breathing to recover form the rather intense exchange he had shared with the scythe-wielding woman. She was way too fast for someone swinging around a weapon that large, and it was beginning to piss him off. Kuwabara and Shiki were dealing with the big guy, and Hiei and Kurama were trying to stave off the leader, since they were best able to deal with that weird web thing he did.

Summoning a combination of his demon and spirit energies to his fist, Yusuke launched a massive Spirit Gun blast at the woman, who merely moved aside without seeming to expend much effort. _Seriously. This is just getting annoying. _

Izumi fought without saying much; his initial attempts at the banter he so enjoyed were met with cold silence. She might as well have been a sponge, just sucking away any and all enthusiasm he had for the fight, turning it into a grim, robotic dance and nothing more. It was beginning to wear on him mentally as well as her attacks were managing physically.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem like the others were much better off. The Spirit Detective was fairly aware of the other fights taking place, enough to know that Kuwabara was sporting several deep cuts from some odd wind-based attack Hiroto had used. Shiki seemed to be faring a little better, mostly because she hadn't rushed recklessly into it. Hiei was looking rather confused; it seemed Kaito was generating some barrier that forestalled direct attack altogether. Judging from the oddly sluggish way in which the fire apparition was moving, it also had some negative effects on the attacker. Kurama was unscathed, though breathing with some difficulty like the rest.

Yusuke was woken from his reverie by a disturbance in the air, followed almost directly by a large blade. Jumping back, he reminded himself to leave the thinking to people who actually bothered with strategy and charged headlong towards Izumi. _Time to finish this._

He realized too late that her blank face had registered the tiniest of smiles.

* * *

Shiki watched with horror as Yusuke went flying backwards, crashing into a nearby tree. She wasn't quite certain what the woman had done, but it looked like the high-schooler was down for the count.

She pursed her lips as Kuwabara leapt forward. He fought in such a way that it was really hard for her to offer him any aid, except to step forward to relieve him when he seemed about to be beaten back. Thus, they were only able to fight their opponent one at a time, which was no real good for their chances, unless they could wear him down. Unfortunately, they seemed to be wearing down faster than he.

She made a quick decision. "Kuwabara, go help Yusuke. I'll hold him here for as long as I can."

Kuwabara looked like he was about ready to protest. She gave him her best imitation of her father's glare, though, and he nodded. She turned to face her opponent, who snickered audibly.

"I hope your friend won't need any more than the few seconds it's gonna take for me to pay you back for what happened at the temple." He grinned savagely. "I gotta say, I don't really like surprises, and that was a doozy of a surprise, girlie."

Shiki just swallowed, and tried to steady her shaking hands by gripping her staff firmly.

Kaito sneered at the diminutive swordsman. This was a waste of time. But still, he supposed he'd have to play it out until the end. By making himself the most obvious target, he'd drawn away two of the strongest at once, leaving the mongrel to Izumi and effectively isolating the two weakest. The dull one had lasted longer than he'd expected, actually. Not that it really mattered. The plan would work correctly either way.

He stood behind his perfect defense, launching attacks just frequently enough to keep his opponents from trying to help anyone else, and watched with amusement as all the little puppets danced to his tune. The girl was having problems now. Defensive as she was, she had managed to hold Hiroto for longer than the Kaito's lieutenant had predicted. Still, she was wearing down, and it was obvious.

Kaito observed Hiroto smirking rather sadistically and thought of reminding him of his task, but stopped short of actually saying anything. It wasn't really going to ruin anything if the brute enjoyed himself.

Kaito himself had never really understood how one could enjoy battle. He found the whole concept rather… distasteful. An incredibly messy way of going about things. Still, he recognized its necessity.

He sent the one called Hiei backwards a few yards before launching an attack at the taller one, who managed to dodge. It seemed he was falling into a pattern. Better change his attacks around a bit then.

* * *

Kurama saw the attack coming, but also knew that it was too fast to dodge. He cracked his rose whip sharply, slicing the bits of web before they were close enough to do any real harm. Hiei was back up, and did the same to an identical technique, eyes flashing dangerously.

Kurama could understand his frustration. The battle was dragging along at a rather unsatisfyingly slow pace. None of the groups seemed to have enough strength to fell their opponents, and so none were able to reinforce the others. It was a stalemate made more dangerous by the fact that Kurama was certain the three strangers were holding back. But what was their game, exactly?

He caught glimpses of the battlefield through the corners of his eyes as he fought. Yusuke was back up after a nasty spill, and he and Kuwabara were both occupied by the woman. Shiki was likely the worst off, and her opponent seemed to be relishing in the damage he was inflicting.

It was then Kurama understood. Shiki was their target. Did they perhaps desire to possess the other stone? But if that was the case, why had they not taken it at the same time as the first one, or simply kidnapped her? It would have been simple enough. _Perhaps…too simple?_

He was about to elaborate on the thought when he saw something that chilled his blood. The one who called himself Hiroto had managed to disarm Shiki, sending her staff skidding to the side. He grabbed the front of her gi and forced her up, then hefted her off the ground.

As he made ready to strike her, Kurama launched himself forward. It was reckless, too reckless for his comfort, but Shiki might not survive such a direct blow. Hiei seemed to understand what was happening; he moved to block his friend's back from Kaito. Kurama lashed out with his weapon and caught Hiroto across the side of his face, but not before the big man had also realized what was happening and thrown Shiki to the ground, sending a wind attack point-blank at Kurama, who had mere seconds to dodge.

Even then, the attack caught him on the arm and threw him far enough off-balance that he crashed to the earth beneath him.

* * *

Shiki watched in horror as her senpai went skidding across the floor of the clearing. Before she could react, the large man began slowly advancing on him, looking ready to finish him off.

A cry tore from her lips, and she struggled to her feet, limping over to her fallen comrade. She turned him over, and winced at the large gash on his arm, which seemed to be bleeding profusely. This had to end soon, or she knew worse would be to come.

_If only we were stronger… if only I were. They've been fighting for me all this time, and I'm completely useless!_

She caught the Hiroto's expression and trembled. He had murder in his eyes, that much was certain. She stood and placed herself between him and Kurama, settling into a hand-to-hand stance since she couldn't seem to locate her staff.

_He'll kill me…_ she thought without much emotion. It wasn't that she wanted to die. She didn't in the least. _But, _she supposed,_ perhaps if I do this, they'll escape… and that's enough. _The realization surprised her, but comforted her as well. _So this is what it means to have friends. _She smiled slightly, and felt something warm in her chest. _Well, then._

She shifted her weight to her right leg, and was about to spring forward when a hand clasped her shoulder from behind.

"I think it would be better if you did not die today, but if you are absolutely intent on it, I will not stop you." The voice was cool, smooth. It was Kurama, but… she turned.

The hand on her shoulder was clawed, and the creature it belonged to regarded her with guarded golden eyes. His hair and skin were pale enough that she might have believed he were made of moonlight, were that contact not so definite.

"Kurama…?" She asked weakly. For surely he was, yet…

His eyes narrowed. "Not exactly. But explanations can wait." With that, he stepped forward to face Hiroto, who looked hesitantly towards Kaito.

"Boss, she's done it." All the bloodlust had disappeared, and he spoke almost in a monotone.

The other man nodded, seemingly satisfied. "Then it's time for us to leave."

"Say what?" Yusuke shouted. "Oh no you don't, you lousy bastard!" He rushed Kaito, but was blocked by Izumi. Kaito muttered something in a language Shiki could not understand, and the three of them vanished.

Everyone took a moment to collect themselves, and then they gathered together, all hesitant to be the first to speak. Botan, who had been floating above the scene, had lost her characteristic cheer and looked grave, eyeing Youko warily. The others were in various states of personal injury, most notably Kuwabara, though not even Hiei was spared a few cuts.

"So, girl, please do tell me how you managed to release me." There was an odd glint in his eye, something Shiki could not place, and something she surely did not wish to think about. She swallowed hard.

_What now?_


	9. Chapter 9: Last Resort

_I do not and have never own(ed) YuYu Hakusho or any of the characters that appear therein. I do, however, own this plot, the villains, Shiki, and her family._

* * *

Botan watched the exchange with an increasing amount of apprehension. It wasn't as though she distrusted Youko, exactly, but… he was rather unpredictable. And he seemed to be very intent on getting an answer.

Shiki on the other hand looked about as blank as an unmarked sheet of paper, though she was also a similar color. Botan couldn't blame her. Kurama's fox demon side was attractive, certainly, but also extremely intimidating. Frankly, she wasn't so sure the two were that far removed.

Since Shiki had confessed she had no idea how she had affected the switch, Youko had been barraging her with questions for the last few minutes as the group tended their injuries. Even more surprising than the fact that Youko had appeared was that he had done so uninjured; usually he retained the same wounds as Kurama did.

"Did anything change just before it happened?" He pressed. Well, maybe _pressed_ wasn't the best word for it really. He didn't change his tone at all, but neither did he remove the silken venom that seemed to permeate it at all times.

Shiki took her time pondering the answer. When it appeared that his patience in waiting for it was waning fast, she spoke quietly.

"Yes. I decided I was okay with the idea of dying for my friends, and then I felt something grow warm in here." She gestured to the left side of her chest. "It was near my heart, but it was a physical warmth."

Youko paused, then continued. "Shuichi says that's where the stone is. Is that true?"

Shiki looked bewildered. "Yes. You can hear him? Kurama's still in there?" Her voice had an obvious note of relief to it, which didn't serve to improve Youko's mood from where Botan stood. Still, she supposed it was only natural; the girl hadn't known about Kurama's transformation like the rest of them did. _She may very well have thought Kurama dead._

"Hey guys, I don't mean to interrupt or whatever, but I think we oughta be figuring out how we got beat so badly and leave the rest for later." A strain of irritation had seeped into his voice.

Kuwabara nodded empathetically. "Yeah, man. What I wanna know is why they didn't kill us. I think they coulda." All trace of bravado was gone from the high-schooler's tone; he seemed rather downcast. Not that Botan was feeling all that cheery herself.

"That's because this was obviously a test, you fool," Hiei snapped. Despite his words, the fire apparition's eyes flashed from one direction to another, vigilantly awaiting another strike. _Well, he's on edge, isn't he? _Botan thought. Not that she didn't understand it; the fight had left them all a bit shaken.

"Hiei is correct. My guess is that they wished to determine whether this girl would be able to use the other stone. They will probably be off to report to their master now." Clearly, Youko was dissatisfied with this outcome, though the frustration manifested in a further reduction of volume rather then the increase which was so characteristic of Yusuke or Kuwabara.

Silence ensued. Youko was staring at Shiki like he was trying to figure something out. For her part, Shiki was doing her best to ignore the scrutiny, busying herself with checking that Kuwabara's bandages were going to stay in place. Botan chewed her lip, and, deciding she couldn't stand it any longer, broke the silence.

"I don't suppose we know who their boss is, do we?"

* * *

Kaito stood before the ornate gilded altar and bowed deeply. His greeting was returned by a disembodied voice.

"Well?"

"Your initial hypothesis was correct, my lord. It would seem as though the girl is the traitor's descendant. She is able to use the second stone." Kaito felt Hiroto shift uncomfortably next to him. The large blond demon was new to their cause; he had yet to grow accustomed to not seeing the person who spoke to them. Kaito and his twin Izumi, on the other hand, had been at this business for well over a hundred years. The water apparition doubted that the fool would be thickheaded enough to abandon their cause at this point. Even if he did, it wasn't as though he couldn't be dealt with. Still, it was as the lord said: the more good help they could find, the better.

"Bring her to me. I want to see if she will make a better choice than her ancestors. And if she does not, I want the pleasure of taking my revenge in person." The voice was infused with a raw bitterness that Kaito knew well.

Izumi spoke. "Master, I cannot see this task taking more than one of us. They are weak, and taking the girl should not be too difficult. She does not yet have full control over the stone. Its effects are likely to be temporary and feeble. Let me go alone. The others should stay here to assist you."

"Very well. Do not fail me, Izumi."

"Of course not, my lord." The woman bowed again, and departed.

"Kaito, are these opponents truly that weak?" the voice asked.

Kaito thought for a moment, then replied slowly. "They are strong by the standards of their era, my lord, but none of them could stand against the ancients. Our kind has lost the strength born of constant warfare. Diplomacy has made them soft."

"Hmm…" Kaito could not help but think that if his master currently had a face, he would be frowning. "Most troubling."

"Indeed, my lord."

* * *

Kurama gritted his teeth and jumped away from the scythe. He'd somehow regained control of his body about an hour ago, and then the woman named Izumi had attacked them again. The fact that their opponents were able to teleport certainly made it harder to plan against them. At least there was only one this time.

Not that it was doing them much good. It seemed that in this case, their numbers were working to their detriment. They couldn't seem to get out of each others' way fast enough. The woman, for her part, was fighting like a demon possessed.

"Damnit! What the Hell is _with _these people?" Kurama heard Yusuke stumble, clutching his left side. Despite his efforts, blood seeped through his fingers.

"Kurama." Hiei arched an eyebrow, waiting. Yusuke caught the exchange and looked sidelong at both of them.

Before the latter could respond, the woman interrupted.

"You know, this would be much easier if you simply gave me the girl," she suggested flatly, giving no indication as to which option she would prefer. Without bothering to give them a chance to respond, she swung her scythe in an impressive arc before her, sending them all jumping backward.

Kurama sighed inwardly. This was not going well. Perhaps there was nothing else for it after all. He had come up with a contingency plan before the woman had attacked, and told Hiei and Yusuke about it. The fewer people that knew the better. Now it looked like he might have to enact it after all.

No, he would most certainly have to. He couldn't help but suppress a frown as Shiki stepped back into the woman's range, staff at the ready.

"You'll just take me then? And leave everyone else alone?" The girl was far too altruistic for her own good. It was to the point where if he didn't have firsthand knowledge of her academic abilities, he might have thought her of little more than average human intelligence. There was, after all, no reason to believe the woman would keep her promise. Why agree to a plan that was surely going to work against you?

The woman let her weapon come to rest beside her, and looked at Shiki with a barely-registered curiosity. "Of course."

Hiei shot another look at his friend, this one considerably more pointed.

"Fine." At this signal, Yusuke leapt forward, and with considerable apology (for him), literally _tossed_ Shiki's small person out of the scythe-woman's range. At the same moment, Hiei moved in to cover Yusuke's back against the attack that would surely follow. The scrape of steel-on-steel met Kurama's ears as he neatly caught Shiki before she hit the ground and then took to the trees.

Kuwabara, to his credit, caught on pretty quickly. He stepped in to fill Yusuke's position.

"Urameshi! Get Botan the Hell outta here! I'll stay with the shrimp!"

Yusuke considered arguing, but clamped his mouth shut and grabbed the confused ferry girl's forearm. "Botan, can you fly us out of here?"

"Er… sure. Should we follow Kurama and Shiki?"

"No. Go that way." Yusuke pointed northeast, about ninety degrees from the direction their friends had taken.

"Umm… okay." Botan decided to fly first, and ask questions later.

* * *

Hiei saw them fly off and grimaced. That left him and the idiot to deal with this fool woman. Not that he expected she would hang around long. Their plan actually hinged on that fact, or at least the version of the plan where everyone survived.

The woman's eyes had narrowed almost imperceptibly when Yusuke had first run forward; now they were practically slits.

"You're lucky I don't have time for this," she said darkly.

"You're not goin' anywhere!" Kuwabara moved to block off the direction Kurama and Shiki had taken. _At least he has the basic idea._ Hiei admitted grudgingly.

Hiei wasn't a fan of the plan. Still, it was honestly their only option at this point. Kurama had suggested that the enemy's teleportation ability was likely to be problematic if they remained in one large group, since that meant slower going. The most expedient solution was to split up. This meant that at least one person would have to stay and delay the enemy for as long as possible. Luckily, they had sent the woman, who seemed to have no real interest in battle. The big guy would have been the worst, even though he was probably the weakest. He would have hung around just to see them suffer. Hopefully, Hiei and Kuwabara would be able to buy enough time for the others to disappear.

The woman did not respond to Kuwabara's assertion, but merely vanished.


	10. Chapter 10: Logic

_I still own nothing._

* * *

Shiki clung to Kurama's back, trying not to let the speed at which they moved dizzy her too much. She had insisted on this change of positioning; it made absolutely no sense to her for Kurama to carry her in his arms while trying to navigate tree branches, even if he didn't seem to have too much difficulty.

"How far do we have to go?" she asked. Shiki wasn't entirely certain whether or not her voice was audible, or if the wind created by their passage was carrying her voice off too quickly to be heard.

"Far enough that they will not be likely to find us by randomly teleporting to areas near where we were."

"Oh." Shiki wasn't exactly sure how far that was, but she supposed it would be a while, yet.

"You can put me down, you know. I'm not quite this fast, but the immediate danger has passed, hasn't it?" Truth be told, she wasn't really looking forward to the prospect of running all those miles, but this kind of proximity to Kurama was… disconcerting, made worse by the fact that she was almost certain she didn't mind it in the slightest.

Kurama stopped dead, crouching on a thick tree limb, but did not respond. Shiki was about to repeat herself, but closed her mouth again when she felt him tense. She strained her senses to try and pick up on what had caused him to stop, but she could not detect anything unusual. Other than the wind through the trees, not a sound could be heard. _Wait._ She wasn't sure if the forests in Makai had animals or not, but if they did, then this kind of silence was actually a problem.

She felt Kurama shift uncomfortably beneath her, and quickly loosened her grip, realizing that she was nearly choking him. Shiki almost muttered an apology, but then decided it could wait. She was conscious of the hammering of her heart in her chest, and deliberately slowed her breathing, trying to match the pattern of Kurama's controlled breaths.

At length, the sounds of the forest seemed to return to their normal volume, and Kurama turned his head to speak.

"I think we will be safe enough for the moment. If you wish me to set you down, I will do so and we can travel by ground." He was careful to keep his tone neutral; though caution was in his nature, he knew that it was unlikely they would be found at this point. Still, he would have been more comfortable if she just stayed where she was, knowing that she would be easier to look after that way.

"Okay. Let's do that then."

With a resigned inward sigh, Kurama leapt gracefully from the tree to that ground, landing relatively lightly despite his extra burden. Setting Shiki down on the ground, he turned to face her. As he had expected, she appeared fearful. There was a nervousness to her demeanor that was usually not present, evident in her shaking hands and forced breathing. Her eyes, however, betrayed her not. A steely glint had crept into the cobalt-blue, evidence of self-mastery beyond what he had believed she possessed. That was the thing about humans. They were always surprising him.

_Where did that thought come from?_ Kurama shook his head slightly. Technically, he wasn't human, but he had never really considered them a separate species before. That sounded oddly like something Youko would think.

**Indeed, **mused the fox demon, **the barrier disintegrates. **

_What do you mean?_ Shuichi asked.

But Youko responded no further.

"Are you all right?" This was Shiki. Her voice snapped him out of his reverie. Apparently he had let some of his internal conversation show; she appeared worried, the flinty look replaced with one that was all softness and concern.

"Yes, I am quite well, all things considered." He smiled, but it was contrived, and they both knew it. Still, she did not enquire further, merely bit her lower lip and nodded. She understood the need to keep certain things unsaid, much unlike Yusuke or Kuwabara.

"Well, I suppose we ought to go then." She managed to inject some relatively genuine cheeriness into her voice. They were, after all, free from immediate danger. As the two walked, they allowed a comfortable silence to settle between them, each thoroughly absorbed in their own thoughts. Shiki wondered how the others were faring, and spent a great deal of time trying to reassure herself that they were all likely very capable of taking care of themselves. She thought about asking Kurama what he thought, but took one look at him and decided to leave him be. He was clearly wrestling with something weighty, best just to leave him to it.

Kurama, for his part, was stewing over several things. First and foremost, he was concocting a plan. He seemed to remember something about this place, something that was almost certainly going to be helpful. Of course, sorting through hundreds of years of memory for something he had likely not considered important was a task in and of itself.

Making this difficult process all the more laborious were the nagging feelings of apprehension in the back of his mind. Try as he might, he could not bring himself to set aside Youko's cryptic remark. _The barrier disintegrates? What barrier? _Kurama had an unfortunate feeling that he knew exactly what Youko had been referring to. The problem was, should that indeed turn out to be the case he could see no way to stop it.

Finally, there was the matter of Shiki. Kurama shot a glance at the girl walking next to him. She was navigating the forest with some difficulty. The flowing robes that made up the traditional warrior's gi she wore were easily caught on twigs and pine needles, and her hair already sported a rather impressive collection of wet leaves. Kurama smiled fleetingly to himself at the sight and then grew solemn.

In truth, she was likely their only chance to defeat the demons that possessed the Akuma stone, since she still held the other. What was more, if his recent transformation was anything to go by, she was beginning to learn how to use it. It would be a matter of getting her close enough to the holder of the other stone so she could neutralize its power. Of course, if the tale of Kurogami was anything to go by, actually accomplishing that may be harmful to Shiki's person. Logically, Kurama knew it had to be done. If it was done correctly, there was but a small risk; the woman in the tale had been desperate and hasty. Still, the idea of subjecting Shiki to even this minor risk bothered him too much for his comfort. And this, in turn, bothered him even more. Kurama was nothing if not logical and yet here he was, refusing bluntly to make a logical, necessary decision. _Why?_

* * *

Yusuke ran a hand through his hair absently. Kurama had given him explicit instructions on the direction to take when he left, but then Kuwabara had complicated things a bit by playing the hero. Expecting that Botan would naturally fly southward, the direction from which they had come, he had told Yusuke to head Northeast with Hiei. Of course, with the mix-up, Yusuke couldn't tell if Hiei would come this way or not.

Not that it mattered too much at this point, he guessed. The idea was to hide "as long as necessary" and then meet back up at a specified coordinate. What exactly was there, Kurama hadn't said, but he'd been awfully specific. In retrospect, Yusuke realized it was better that the groups had ended up like this; in the rush of the fight, he'd forgotten to pass the note with the coordinates to Kuwabara.

Botan flew beside him on her oar as he walked along the forest floor. It wouldn't do to get too close to the rendezvous point quite yet. He'd explained everything as they flew away, and she seemed to understand the need to keep her in the dark until then. That hadn't, of course, kept her from lecturing him about it.

"And honestly, what good does this whole 'splitting up' thing do us anyway?"

Yusuke sighed, and responded with a shorter tone than he would normally have used. "If we stay together, we're easier to find."

His abruptness caught her off-guard, and she fell silent. Truly, she understood that her tendency to ask too many questions and offer too much information was frequently irritating, but she could not be otherwise. These tendencies were both her coping mechanism for stress and her way to feel useful. The fact that she was a noncombatant sometimes bothered her, so she always strove to be as helpful as she could in other ways.

Yusuke saw the look on her face and sighed again. "Sorry about that. It was just the best shot we had, ya know?"

She smiled weakly and nodded. "Of course. I just don't like it."

That elicited a short bark of laughter. "Yeah, me either."

* * *

Hiei rolled his eyes at the crashing sound he heard behind him. The oaf had clearly never had to go anywhere quietly. They were fortunate that nobody had bothered to follow them, as they wouldn't be at all difficult to track.

His eyes scanned the surrounding forest, looking for anything out-of-place. It never hurt to be careful in situations like this. Spying nothing worth note, he launched himself out of the branches and into the next tree. He was careful not to get too far ahead of the oaf, though. It would do no good to leave him behind, after all, but this way, he didn't have to make conversation.

His eye involuntarily twitched as he contemplated the possibility. Kuwabara's two favorite topics were Yukina and Hiei's height. While the latter was easy to ignore or rip down with a suitably biting retort, discussion of the former just made him uncomfortable, especially since Kuwabara had no idea how thin his ice was on that topic, which was just as well. Hiei was certain he'd never hear the end of it if the oaf found out.

Kuwabara tripped over a fallen log and shouted as he fell. Hiei stopped to allow him time to pick himself up. Still, he couldn't resist.

"We all know you can't fight; do you mean to tell me you can't walk correctly either?"

"Shut it, short-fuse! Not all of us are tiny enough to jump around in trees, okay?"

Hiei sighed inwardly, and found himself with the distinct desire to be back on Makai border patrol.


	11. Chapter 11: Skylight

_A/N: I own nothing save Shiki, her relatives, the villains, and the plot Which is actually quite a bit I guess. But still. Nothing you'd be able to see in an episode of YuYu Hakusho._

* * *

The night was cold, made all the more bitter by the fact that the forest seemed covered in a permanent layer of _damp_ that removed any protection her clothing might have afforded her.

Shiki sat by the small fire they had constructed, watching her breath forming into small clouds each time she exhaled. Kurama had seemed worried about the possibility of being discovered should someone spot the smoke roiling into the sky from where they were camped. For whatever reason, though, he'd agreed in the end, and so Shiki sat warming herself by the flames whilst Kurama searched the area for any edible plants. She deferred to his judgment in this; whatever knowledge of herbs she possessed was invalid here, she was certain. She took several of the strange, bulbous roots he had already brought and skewered them on some thin sticks she had gathered and allowed them to roast by the fire pit, taking care to turn them occasionally.

At this point, Kurama returned with more plants, and they were quickly added to the skewers. When she pronounced them cooked, the two of them ate in relative silence. The meal was mostly tasteless but filling, and she soon found her insides to be warming.

"Does this plant have medicinal properties, then?" she asked curiously.

"It is called Wintersbane by many a traveler, for it has saved many from hypothermia." He answered without looking at her, eyes fixed on the fire. Shiki thought to ask another question, but decided against it. At a loss for what to do next, she too stared into the flames. The tongues of fire seemed to dance, casting flickering shadows onto her legs and the ground in front of her. Shiki sighed without realizing it and thought back to the time Jii-chan had taken her camping. That, she decided, was certainly a happier circumstance than this.

_But then, _she concluded,_ there are good things about this too._ She thought back to how much she had learned in just this short time, and was astounded by how far she'd come. Surely, to someone with as much skill as Kurama or Yusuke, her power was insignificant, but… she couldn't help but feel a twinge of happiness. Perhaps there would come a day when her skills would be like theirs. Either way, it was something to work toward. She smiled, the tiniest of curves to her lips, at the thought.

Reaching forward, she pulled off her sandals and socks, and stretched her feet toward the fire, moving her toes to return the feeling to them. She relaxed back onto her hands and turned her face toward the night sky, which was just visible through a hole in the canopy above their heads. She could just see the moon, a sliver of silver-white accompanied by a dusting of stars.

Shiki heard a slight rustling and reluctantly slid her eyes from the evening's tableau. Blue-black met emerald green, and Shiki blinked. Kurama's eyes were somewhat unsettling in their clarity. He had an odd look on his face, as though he were puzzled by something. "The sky," she said by way of explanation. "It looks just the same as it does in Human World."

Another inscrutable expression passed across his features before he answered. "Does it?"

Shiki tilted her head to the side. "You can't tell?" When he shook his head, she continued. "Here, come look." She gestured to a spot a few feet from where she sat, and he moved from the opposite side of their fire to get a better look. "See? There's Orion, and that's Venus over there…" She pointed at a few different places in the inky blackness.

"So it is…" His voice trailed off pensively, and a silence once again permeated the area. Shiki was suddenly conscious once again of his proximity. He sat only about a foot from her, close enough that she could feel his body heat in the air next to her. She studiously avoided looking directly at him, studying the sky perhaps more closely than she would have otherwise. It was his scent that was the problem. Pine needles, with traces of wood smoke and fresh flowers. It was an odd combination, but not entirely unpleasant.

Shiki did her best to put it out of her mind as she stared upwards. Eventually, she felt a kink developing in the back of her neck, and so she laid back onto the ground. Her ponytail created an uncomfortable bump in the back of her head, so she carefully loosed it, putting the band around her wrist.

"Kurama?" she asked softly.

"Yes?"

"Do you think we'll be able to do it?"

"Do what?"

"Stop whatever it is that's happening."

She heard him sigh before he replied, though his answer was less certain than she was hoping for. "Perhaps. Our success or failure depends upon a number of things that are difficult to control."

"Like my powers?" She frowned. She had had a nagging feeling the conversation would go this way, and she knew she wouldn't like it. Still, she had to know.

"Actually, your powers are one of the things I have the most confidence in."

She lifted her head, surprised, to see his face. His expression was carefully neutral, and betrayed nothing of what he actually thought. "Truly?"

He nodded placidly. "They have saved us once already. I am sure they will be there when you need them."

She relaxed and let her head rest once more on the ground. "I see. But… Youko, is he…?" She struggled, trying to find the right way to phrase the question.

Luckily, he knew where she was going. "He is a part of me, as I am of him. Youko is a demon fox, one who inhabited the body of my mother's child before he was born. So I am both Shuichi and Youko, and yet neither."

Shiki paused for a moment, considering. "I can't say that makes much sense. To me, it seems as though you're Kurama, and that covers everything, you know?" Her statement invited a response, but Kurama was silent. Afraid she had said something she shouldn't have, Shiki tried to make amends. "I mean, we're all kind of like that, aren't we? Different people at different times, I mean."

"How so?" he seemed genuinely curious as to her reasoning.

"Well, take me for instance. I'm my parents' daughter, Jii-chan's granddaughter and his student, a pupil at school… even though it's all Shiki, I'm a little different each time, with each person. I think everyone's like that. Like our enemies sometimes make us worse than we usually are, and our friends make us better, don't you think?"

"It is an interesting theory, I will give you that."

There was a lull in the conversation; Kurama seemed to have sunk into his thoughts. Shiki found her eyes growing heavy and allowed them to close, still keeping an ear open in case her companion should say something.

* * *

Kurama, for his part, was uncertain if he should say anything else. If he were an emotional person, he would have blamed the night air for addling his senses so, but as it was he could find nothing to blame save a lapse in his usual attentiveness.

It had all started when they had decided to set up camp for the evening. He had known it would be unwise to start a fire, just in case the three strangers were still seeking them, but when Shiki had asked, her shivering had convinced him otherwise. So, too, had he known it would be unwise to stray too far from camp, but then he had smelled the Wintersbane some distance away and decided it would be best to collect some.

This decision, at least, he could rationalize. It wouldn't do either of them any good if Shiki collapsed, and Wintersbane was a good way to ensure that she would not become hypothermic. What had happened afterward, though, was beyond his understanding.

After their brief meal, he'd preoccupied himself with his usual planning, but found himself unable to focus for long stretches of time. His eyes kept wandering to his companion, who seemed to have taken up his earlier practice of staring into the fire. For some reason he could not place, he found the minute details of her actions fascinating. She frowned slightly when she thought, he noticed, or at least it had seemed so until a small smile had appeared on her face. He was completely at a loss as to what she must be thinking of, which in and of itself was unusual. By all rights, she should have been lamenting their current condition, stranded and quite possibly pursued in the middle of a hostile forest, and yet this was not the case.

She'd taken to looking at the sky next, and a look of no small wonder had overtaken her countenance. He marveled at the sheer contentment she seemed to exude; clearly, whatever she was remembering brought her happiness. He felt a twinge of… something… when he realized that her reason for being so was completely unknowable to him. He was accosted by the irrational desire to ask, but stopped himself. He had no right to make such a personal inquiry. Why had he even thought of it?

She suddenly looked over at him, and he had been taken aback by the tranquility in her eyes, a near-perfect peace. Had she been meditating? Then he realized the length of time for which he had been occupied studying her and was confused. Oddly enough, Kurama found it slightly embarrassing.

Fortunately, he must have been able to disguise it well enough, for she mistook his feelings for mere curiosity, and had explained to him the reason for her study of the sky. When he had heard that it was the very same one she was used to seeing, it had taken him a moment to realize why this was odd. He had looked up, but found that his own view was mostly obscured by trees. She gestured him over, and it was with a peculiar sense of foreboding that he had changed locations. He told himself, of course, that it was only to see whether or not she was right in her estimation, and he would move back thereafter.

It took only a glance upward to tell him that she was right, so he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye instead. Her eyes were fixed upward, and their color matched cloudless vista above them. He smiled as she pointed upwards, explaining her topic with unmasked joy.

When she was finished, he became unsure if moving back would be rude or not. He searched his extensive memory and realized he had no idea what the proper etiquette in this sort of situation was at all. She had, by this time, lain back onto the ground and seemed to be quite intent on the stars once again. Kurama decided to remain where he was. It made sense, after all, to conserve as much heat as possible, and sitting across the fire wasn't going to help with that.

"Kurama?" her voice was shaky as it reached his ears.

"Yes?" He tried to sound as nonchalant as possible, a good attitude to adopt when you are uncertain of what was coming next, he reasoned.

"Do you think we can do it?"

"Do what?" He thought he knew what she was asking, but wanted to be sure.

"Stop whatever it is that's happening."

He sighed. Of all the questions she could have asked, it had to be one of those he had no real answer for. He settled for telling her what he did know. "Perhaps. Our success or failure depends upon a number of things that are difficult to control."

"Like my powers?" He caught her frown out of the corner of his eye and nearly frowned himself. He searched for a way to reassure her, and decided the truth was probably the best option.

"Actually, your powers are one of the things I have the most confidence in."

"Truly?" She lifted herself partway off the ground and looked at him. He had the feeling he was being searched somehow, and gained the impression that what he said next would have a great impact, for better or worse.

"They have saved us once already. I am sure they will be there when you need them."

She visibly relaxed, and he inwardly sighed with relief. "I see. But… Youko, is he…?"

Kurama wondered why she had to ask the difficult questions. "He is a part of me, as I am of him. Youko is a demon fox, one who inhabited the body of my mother's child before he was born. So I am both Shuichi and Youko, and yet neither." _It is something that I have yet to come to terms with,_ he added silently.

**Then we are the same.**

There was a pause. _And now she fears us. Fears me. _To his surprise, though, she responded. "I can't say that makes much sense. To me, it seems as though you're Kurama, and that covers everything, you know?" He was silent, and she was quick to pick up on this. "I mean, we're all kind of like that, aren't we? Different people at different times, I mean."

To say that this simple, bold reasoning came as a surprise to him was to do injustice to the level of shock it produced. This was something he had struggled with since he had become aware of his other side, and it took him a moment to recover, though he still couldn't understand her logic. "How so?"

"Well, take me for instance. I'm my parents' daughter, Jii-chan's granddaughter and his student, a pupil at school… even though it's all Shiki, I'm a little different each time, with each person. I think everyone's like that. Like our enemies sometimes make us worse than we usually are, and our friends make us better, don't you think?"

He thought for a while. Perhaps there was something to that, but he doubted other people's sides spoke to them as his did. Still, the ease with which she accepted his statement left a deep impression on him. "It is an interesting theory, I will give you that." He would surely have to think of a reply at length before the conversation continued any further.

**She is quite interesting, that one.**

_You think so, do you?_

Kurama decided to change the subject, but found that when he went to open his mouth, Shiki's breathing had become slow and steady and her eyes had closed. He marveled for a moment at her strangeness, and the slowly turned himself to face the other direction, so as to better keep watch over her slumber.


	12. Chapter 12: Family

_A/N: I don't own this anime. Darn. And if I was good enough at writing to make money from it, I wouldn't be writing fanfic._

* * *

Hiei inhaled deeply. His sense of smell certainly wasn't the sharpest, but it didn't take a bloodhound to detect the scent of wood smoke so near. His eyes darted left and right quickly, and he motioned for Kuwabara to follow him as quietly as possible. The large teenager was painfully slow about it, but at least he managed to remain fairly undetectable. Hiei waited for him to catch up, then silently leaped forward again, carrying himself to the next tree branch.

He had first detected signs of a camp a few miles ago, when faint coils of grey became visible in the evening sky. It seemed there was a clearing nearby, and that was a good hint that something was in it. He had turned back to stare hard at Kuwabara until the latter stopped. The two of them had quickly decided that it was best to talk as little as possible, and so, save for the occasional under-breath grumbling from the teenager or twig snapping under his feet, they passed their journey in silence. Hiei was loath to break it, since talking generally led swiftly to arguing, but realized the necessity.

"There's someone ahead."

"Say what? Who?"

Hiei resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "How should I know?"

"What should we do?"

Now there was a worthwhile question. If they chose to avoid the place altogether, they risked meeting whoever it was again in less favorable circumstances. If they attacked outright, they could wind up dead. Still, if it was one of those three from earlier, stealth might be the only way to win. Hiei grimaced. He wasn't fond of killing people for no reason, or without a fair fight.

"We find out who it is. Follow me. And be quiet about it." With that, Hiei had taken once more to the trees, leaving Kuwabara to follow in his wake.

Now, stalking closer, he found that someone did indeed have a fire going. The sky had darkened by this point, but between the fire below and the moon above, the small camp was easily visible. He saw a figure laying by the side of the fire. Upon closer examination, it seemed vaguely familiar.

"Hiei," an even more familiar voice called softly. "You do not need to hide."

Hiei shook his head and jumped from his tree. "Do you want people to be able to find you?" He asked. It wasn't like Kurama to be this reckless.

Kurama stepped out of a shadow to his left. "Not really. However, there were more important considerations…" Kurama answered vaguely. At this point, Hiei remembered Kuwabara, but before he could open his mouth to call his the obnoxious human over, he had already found his own way out of the bushes and over to the fire.

"Now this is better!" The oaf stretched, and plopped down next to the flames. "You've got the right idea here, Kurama."

A half-smiled ghosted across Kurama's face, and he shook his head. "Humans are not so cold-resistant as we are, Hiei."

The fire apparition's only reply was a grunt before he, too had gone to stand near the source of warmth. Eyeing one of the remaining skewers of plants carefully, he grabbed it and returned to Kurama. He considered questioning the fox further, but decided it wasn't really worth it. If Hiei had thought himself capable of real trust, it would be Kurama that he trusted first and foremost. As it was, he knew at the very least that the fox always had a plan of some kind and wasn't likely to do something stupid without a reason.

So instead he just walked past and jumped back into the tree, silently volunteering to take over the watch. It wasn't long before he heard the sleeping girl stir, and the low tones of Kurama's voice as she was informed of what had transpired. She appeared to accept this, because it wasn't long before her breathing returned to regularity, and it was soon joined by the rather cacophonous snores of a sleeping Kuwabara. Kurama took up a position on the other side of the camp, and all was as it needed to be.

* * *

"Have you still not found them?" the voice growled.

"No, my lord. They seem to have split from one another, and are traveling in patterns that don't make sense. Whoever planned their strategy must have known that our teleportation takes us only to places we have been already." Kaito did his best to keep his voice even, but the malice in his master's tone was not something to be taken lightly.

There was a mild crackling noise, and an image of Izumi slowly resolved into the real thing before their eyes. She immediately knelt, eyes on the floor.

"My lord," she began. "I have managed to locate one of the groups."

"Is she with them?"

"I cannot say for certain. I fear they would have detected me if I had come any closer."

There was a momentary pause; Kaito felt the tension in the room grow as if it were palpable. On second thought, perhaps that was just his imagination. His highness was probably no more angry than before, perhaps even less so, and it had been a long time since Izumi had felt anything strong enough to be recognized as emotion. Yes, it was surely a trick of his own mind. They were so close to their goal, and yet…

"I want her taken alive. Kill the rest. If she is not among those you find, you know what to do."

"Yes, my lord."

"Izumi?"

"Your highness?"

"Do not fail me again."

"Of course not, my lord." Izumi muttered an incantation and disappeared once more.

"Kaito."

It wasn't a question, but it compelled him to answer all the same. "Yes, your highness?"

"It is almost complete. Make the preparations for my final release. We approach the day when the name of Kurogami shall once again bring fear into the hearts of human and demon alike. I refuse to be a child's tale any longer, Kaito. This time, I shall rule all there is."

The voice was growing louder; Kaito felt the stonework under his feet move in response. In truth, a thousand years had made him forget how fearsome his lord could be. An equally fierce loyalty stirred within him, and he felt a shiver run down his spine. "Of course, my lord. I eagerly await the day when you remake the world."

He stood, and his lips twisted into a smile as he turned and left the room. _Soon. Very soon._

* * *

Unbeknownst to both parties, Yusuke and Botan were only a few miles from where Hiei and Kuwabara had found the others. Beside a fire of their own, the Spirit Detective and the ferry girl were each anxiously speeding through their own thoughts. Botan worried about how the others were doing and if their enemies would find them; Yusuke wondered how they would ever be strong enough to deal with what came next. Eventually, however, he decided that planning wasn't really his thing. When the time came, he would figure something out. Until then, it did him no good to think about it too much.

It was because of this that Yusuke managed to fall asleep, leaving Botan to worry on her own. She let him sleep, knowing that if this was anything like past experiences, he would be getting little enough rest later. Botan looked down at the little device that she had used to find the portal that led them here, wondering if it had been such a good idea to go in blind after all. The tiny compass did not reply, however, and she bit her lip.

Botan was a perpetual worrier. Of course, it wasn't something she told anyone. No, it was generally better to be as cheerful as possible, to give off an air of confidence. It was really all she could do, sometimes. Now though, out here with only the generally unsociable Yusuke for company, she allowed her worry out of the cage she kept it in, and allowed her façade to fall away. She'd worry tonight, and go back to being productive tomorrow.

_Well, _she thought to herself, _best get it all off my mind then._ She looked again at Yusuke, and, finding he was soundly asleep, decided that speaking aloud couldn't hurt.

"I don't know if we can do this," she began softly. "These people just seem so strong, and I don't know for sure if we can beat them. It's not like I doubt you guys, but they seem like they're… I don't know… like they're infallible somehow." She smiled a little at her use of the word. It wasn't like her, really. "And then, of course, I always worry about being a burden. Before, it wasn't that big of a deal. I could always help somehow, but now, I just feel so incredibly useless. The four of you boys fight so hard for all of us, and Shiki's strong too. I wish I could fight. But then, I don't think I could ever do it. Ever hurt anyone." She sighed. "And now I'm just being even more useless. Complaining." Yusuke stirred, and Botan shook her head, smiling in a most uncharacteristically sardonic way. "You're all so strange. You, Yusuke, you just keep on fighting, even when you know you're beat. And Kuwabara, he just seems to get stronger the worse off he is. And Kurama, he never gets flustered, like nothing can touch him. Hiei…" she trailed off. "He cares so much for Yukina, but he'd never show it. We're kind of like a silly, dysfunctional family. You're all my brothers and sisters."

Botan fell silent, stewing over the last thought. _Family…_ She'd never really known family before. But it felt nice, thinking about them this way. She cared about them all. She just wished she could do something more to help them.

"Well, maybe I can. Maybe if I just keep on going, being happy no matter what, maybe that's helping too." She smiled. "That's it. Not everyone in a family has to do the same things. We're all different. So what if I don't fight? That's it! Thank you, Yusuke!" She clapped a hand over her mouth, realizing he was still asleep. "Oops. Sorry!" she whispered.

"I was like you once," came a flat voice from behind her.

Botan sprang to her feet and turned around, but she was too late. The blunt end of something heavy hit her in the back of the head, and she crashed into the ground, black spots dancing at the end of her vision.

"Do me a favor," the voice continued. "Tell your friends that if they ever want to see this one again, they'll surrender the girl to Lord Kurogami."

"N-no…" Botan choked, trying to get up. A wave of nausea hit her, and she found she couldn't move. The blackness continued to creep into her line of sight. _Kurogami? I've heard that before…_ but her addled brain could not complete the thought, and she succumbed to unconsciousness.


	13. Chapter 13: Memories

_If you saw it on TV, I don't have the rights to it._

* * *

"Botan! Botan, wake up!" Shiki's voice was reaching a frantic pitch in her desperation. But still, her unmoving friend did not respond. So the girl set to the arduous task of making Botan as comfortable as possible. She had landed on one of her arms, and so Shiki moved to her other side, attempting to adjust her so that she might determine if it was broken.

It seemed, though, that her fears would be assuaged. Botan had taken a heavy blow to the back of the head, but it truthfully could have been much worse. The strike was actually quite precise; enough force had been used to completely incapacitate the ferry girl almost immediately, but there was no excess violence involved. _Not the large one then…_

Shiki's thoughts were interrupted when she became aware of a presence beside her. _That has to be Hiei_. She wondered if he was aware of how unsettling it was that he always moved so noiselessly. Kurama at least made sure to make some disturbance so she knew he was there. She looked up, and indeed, met glittering red eyes.

"Did you find him?"

"No." He seemed almost about to say something else, then clamped his mouth shut and moved off a little ways. Shiki just shook her head. Hiei reminded her of her brother Ichirou, just a little bit. She could tell that his silence was due to concern that he would not voice. She claimed no great talent at reading people, but she had lived with Ichirou for fourteen years, and Hiei was just similar enough that she though she had a pretty good idea what he was thinking.

"Botan should wake up soon. I'm sure she'll be able to tell us everything. Perhaps Kurama or Kuwabara has found him by now."

Hiei merely grunted in response, keeping his eyes leveled on the forest in the direction Kurama had gone. Had the occasion allowed such a thing, Shiki would have smiled and shook her head. Gruffness only went so far, and it was obvious he was concerned about the abducted Spirit Detective.

She heard a small sound below her, and looked down to see Botan stirring. The ferry girl's eyes fluttered open slowly, and Shiki knelt beside her.

"Botan, can you hear me?" she asked softly.

"W-water," croaked her friend in response.

Shiki nodded. That seemed like a good sign. "Sure thing." She looked up at Hiei. "I don't suppose you have any? I lost mine after we were attacked yesterday."

The fire apparition rolled his eyes, but produced a vessel and tossed it to Shiki, who caught it deftly and smiled. "Thank you."

Hiei was spared having to make a reply when Kurama emerged from the tree line, headed toward them with some degree of urgency. Hiei moved to meet him while Shiki helped the half-conscious Botan get some water down without choking on it.

Shiki spared them a glance. It didn't look too good. They were talking in low, hurried voices, but she could see Kurama close his eyes and shake his head slowly. She frowned. This didn't bode well.

She was about to open her mouth to speak when Kuwabara crashed into the clearing from her left. He caught her look.

"Nothin'. Is Botan okay?"

Shiki looked back down at her friend, who appeared to be slowly realizing where she was. "She will be."

Kurama and Hiei approached as Botan was sitting up. "Where am I?" The blue-haired woman looked around, and realization passed across her face. "Oh no! Yusuke! They took Yusuke!" Her voice reached a desperate pitch.

"Shh," Shiki soothed. "When did they come?"

"Nngh. Last night." Botan blinked slowly a few times, taking in her surroundings. She pulled her knees to her chest and breathed deeply. Shiki waited patiently, but she could tell that Kuwabara wouldn't last much longer before he launched into a torrent of questions, so she preempted him more gently than he would have managed. "What did they say?"

"She said…" Botan paused, trying to wrench the memory from her still-fuzzy head. "She said that we had to trade you for Yusuke." Her eyes grew wide, and she stammered, "I-I think she means to come back for you!"

Shiki's brow furrowed, she bit her lip and looked upward, meeting the eyes of each of the others in turn, coming to rest on an emerald-green pair. "What now?"

* * *

Izumi opened her eyes lazily and listened carefully to the surrounding forest. It appeared that, as she had expected, the group had not moved from where she had left the pink one last night. Good. This would make her next task easier, and she did hate expending too much effort. Hopefully they would just give in to Kurogami's demands and be done with it. There was really no point in resisting him. The one person who'd ever managed it had nothing to show for it but an unmarked grave.

With that morbid thought firmly in mind, she followed her ears to the clearing where the strange assortment of humans, demons, and part-breeds resided. They all stood to face her as she emerged from the cover of the forest. Apparently, they had been expecting her. The girl in the pink kimono appeared to have awoken, which explained that much.

Izumi casually tilted her head to the side as she observed them. They all repeatedly looked at the small blue-eyed girl. She seemed… familiar, that one, like a memory from a distant dream of some kind. Izumi let the thought go. She didn't hold much with dreams. Or memories, for that matter. The big, orange-haired one looked furious, the one who smelled like plants was largely expressionless, and the short one with the sword just looked guarded.

"Do you plan to resist?" She let herself drawl the words, just a little bit, so they knew she really didn't care much either way.

All pairs of eyes flashed to the girl-child again. They seemed to be… expecting something? Izumi followed their gazes and was struck again by that wave of familiarity. Her target was wearing a look of grim resolution that triggered many flashbacks in Izumi's own mind, which was perhaps why she was completely unprepared when the girl's stone activated, sending a wave of spirit energy into the air.

Two of her companions took advantage of the disruption to surge forward, and Izumi could tell that their energy levels were much higher than she had planned for. Apparently the child was gaining some mastery over the tools at her disposal. Not the kind of power which Kurogami could command with the other, but still… Izumi swung her scythe in a swift arc before her, causing the small one to jump off to her right and the big one to stop short of her range. No longer facing a coherent attack, she focused on parrying the sword-thrust that came her way first. Forcing the fire apparition back was no easy task, as the main disadvantage of her weapon was that it telegraphed more than most, and he seemed to have gotten much faster than the last time she had fought him.

He relented in just enough time for Izumi to cross her arms in front of her to block a blow from a spirit sword. The big one grinned. "Not so tough now, are ya? You'd better just give Urameshi back, 'cause there's no way we're gonna lose now!"

Izumi discharged some spirit energy, sending him flying backwards. As much as she wanted to believe otherwise, he was most likely correct. While she may have been able to take one or even two of them at once, three at this level was just too…

_Where's the third?_ She whipped around, coming face-to-face with what was surely the red-haired human from moments ago, but…

* * *

Youko caught the scythe deftly in one hand. "I suggest you surrender. It will make this considerably less painful." He looked into the woman's flat, dead blue eyes and briefly wondered if she could even feel pain.

_Everyone feels pain, _a gentle voice admonished him.

**Shuichi?**

_Yes. Odd, is it not? Normally, you cannot hear me when you are fully awake. And yet, here I am, seeing through your eyes._

**Later. I'm busy now.**

"Go ahead," said the woman tonelessly. "Kill me. I surrender." She sank down the shaft of her scythe to rest on her knees as one who waits for the executioner's axe.

Youko's brow creased slightly. "You seem awfully eager to die. I suppose it's your choice to make though."

"Don't," came a soft voice from his right. He turned, hand still gripping the scythe. "Please don't kill her." Shiki stepped up to his side to look at the woman, across whose eyes flicked a look of recognition. "What can you tell me about Yusuke's location?"

Izumi shrugged. "He is being held at Kurogami's castle."

Hiei, standing a few feet away, heard this and stared hard at the woman. "Kurogami?"

"Yes. My lord is the one and only Kurogami." Instead of the pride or condescension that Youko would have expected, there was a tinge of bitterness to the woman's voice.

"You don't sound happy about that." This was Shiki, who looked confused. _I thought they were devoted to him?_

The woman startled all present by letting out a short, harsh bark of laughter. "Should I be?"

Shiki frowned and stood, offering a hand to the woman, who looked at her with something akin to surprise. "There is more to your story than I would have thought." She paused, and considered briefly, before casting a quick glance at each of her companions, wondering how they would react to her next question. "Will you come with us?"

Izumi's mouth twitched into an odd sort of disbelieving smile. "You expect me to betray my master?"

Youko arched an eyebrow and spoke up. "Do you not want to?" And, indeed, unless he was very much mistaken, a new spark had entered the woman's eyes.

Her eyes narrowed. "Maybe."

"Then come with us. Take us to him, and help us defeat him." Shiki's voice was gently urging, but firm.

Izumi shook her head. "You don't understand. I can't betray him. We are bound. I am compelled to obey him. Even if I took you there, I can give no guarantees that I won't attack you again."

Youko was surprised (though he would never show it) to see Shiki smile genuinely at that statement. "No need to worry about that. We'll make sure you won't."

* * *

Izumi found herself laughing again, disconcerting as she knew it probably was to present company. "You are most strange." _Just like her…_

"Please."

Izumi relinquished her hold on the scythe. "You could have killed me and you didn't. I guess that means my life is yours." She shook her head. "I don't know that your friends like this idea though." The big one looked confused, but Izumi could tell that he'd do what he was told. The one with the sword didn't look happy at all, but it was the silver one she was concerned about. He was, after all, the one holding her weapon, and his eyes held no trace of the mercy that was virtually pouring out of the girl. Under the girl's questioning gaze however, he merely shrugged and took a few steps backwards.

"I thank you," Izumi said, turning back to the girl.

The girl smiled. "Don't mention it. I'm Shiki. That's Kuwabara, Hiei, and Kurama." The fox demon's eyes flicked back to Shiki when she said his name, but the girl didn't appear to notice.

"Izumi." She took the outstretched hand and stood. "I imagine I have a great deal of explaining to do."

"You'd best wait until we leave here," the fox observed. "Unless you want to get caught when they come looking for you…?"

Izumi smiled grimly. It seemed she had been given a golden opportunity, albeit one that may have ended up as more of a hindrance than a help. Still, this meant she could act centuries earlier than she had originally planned. _No, I don't want them to find me. Not yet._


	14. Chapter 14: Bonds

_A/N: Yep. Still don't own a thing. Sad panda. _

_Oh, and just in case you didn't know (which I'm sure you did) italics are thoughts, or Shuichi's voice in his internal dialogue, _**bold is Youko in the same, **_and I'll let you take a guess at what __**this**_ _means._

* * *

A tense silence surrounded the six as they made their way through the thickest part of the forest. The canopy was so dense that Shiki couldn't even see the sky. The space the group occupied was kept in a permanent twilight by the branches high above, which allowed only the barest beams of light to shine through. The occasional spots of sun gave the forest floor a dappled look, and Shiki spent much of her time gazing at the thin shafts of light through which dust visibly floated. It was beautiful in its own way, but she had little time to think about it; the pace Hiei was setting was harsh indeed for one so unaccustomed to forest travel. It didn't help that her legs were so short. Of course, since Hiei was leading, it wasn't like she could use that as an excuse. She was thus far managing to keep up, but wasn't honestly sure how much longer it would last.

She looked to her left, where Izumi was striding along without any apparent difficulty at all, injured though she still was. It was a shame they couldn't all use whatever teleportation powers the woman possessed, but apparently it had something to do with her servitude to Kurogami, and would only work on the individual that used it. The older woman had said nothing since they had started walking an hour ago, and her expression was inscrutable. Still, the silence was becoming oppressive, and Shiki had at least a dozen questions buzzing inside her head.

"Izumi?" She hazarded. When the woman did not respond, Shiki continued. "You said you were 'bonded' to Kurogami. What does that mean, exactly?"

Izumi's eyes slid to Shiki's. The younger held the gaze as best she could, though it was disconcerting in its flatness. Several seconds elapsed, during which Izumi seemed to come to some kind of decision. "You ask a very loaded question. Tell me, why do you want to know?"

Shiki considered briefly before answering, aware that her words carried some weight for a reason she did not know. "If we are to free you from it, would it not make sense to know what it is?"

Izumi's eyes narrowed, and for a moment Shiki thought she had said something she shouldn't have. "It is a unique ability possessed by water apparitions, a race to which my brother and I both belong."

Shiki's eyes opened wide. "Is that so? Jii-chan didn't mention anything about that…" At the woman's questioning look, she continued. "My grandmother was a water apparition. Maybe you know her? She was called Mizuki."

"Many daughters of our tribe are called this. But-" Izumi paused, and Shiki had the distinct feeling she was being scrutinized closely. "I suspect I know who she was."

There was a brief silence, during which Shiki thought of at least a dozen more questions. Before she could open her mouth to voice any of them, however, Izumi cut her off. "As you may already know, a water apparition's strength lies not in attack, but defense. As a race, our most notable characteristic has always been our fierce loyalty to those we choose to serve." She grimaced. "Or are forced to serve. A bonding happens when a water apparition chooses to link their life irrevocably with another. It brings with it an increase in our power as well as a lifetime obligation to protect the person we are bound to."

Shiki tried not to let her confusion show too much on her face. "Why would anyone do that, though?"

"It is considered the deepest expression of loyalty we can make. Most often, it was something spouses did to cement their marriages. Others chose to serve a master in this way, such as my brother and I. This was uncommon for most of our history, as we were largely a reclusive people, but eventually outsiders discovered our secrets. Bonds can be forged in two ways; naturally or ceremonially. The natural bond generally arises when there is enough feeling of loyalty for a person or people. It gives us the strength to protect those we care for, but does not oblige us any further than our loyalty does."

Shiki swallowed. "And the ceremonial bond?"

"It is an ancient thing, one that gives us great power, but not without subjecting us to the whims of whomever we are bound to. Once people discovered this, you can imagine how we were used. Other demons saw us as the perfect weapons, strong and completely devoted. They took our strength and twisted it until it was no longer our pride but our curse. Our children were stolen and sold, or used to make their parents submit. Our village was destroyed, our people reduced in number until we were all but extinct."

Heat built behind Shiki's eyes, and she felt the stinging prick of tears unshed. Blinking them back, she dared another statement. "You speak of this as though you saw it happen."

Rather than answer the implication directly, Izumi continued in an abstract sort of way. "Kurogami offered us a way out. He told us he respected our people, told us that he would put a stop to the kind of world where the weak could use the strong to hide behind. He had the three of us convinced from the start."

"Three of you? Hiroto's not a water apparition, is he?"

Izumi snorted derisively. "Him? He's just a hanger-on. Kaito found him and decided we could use him, that's all. No, Kaito and I were with our sister, Yuki."

Shiki took a moment to process this piece of information. "So then…?" She let the question hang in the air.

Izumi's voice grew even quieter, so that Shiki (and the others, most of whom were listening with rapt attention, save Youko, who managed to look bored) had to strain to catch her words.

"Yuki had just lost her husband, and was afraid for her child. She couldn't bear it at all. She fell for Kurogami's sweet promises, and then in love with Kurogami himself, but something inside of her broke. When she discovered what he was really after… she was the only one strong enough to resist him, because she was bound to her child as well as him. As soon as he found out, he made Kaito and I perform the ceremonial binding, just to spite her. After all that, she still loved him, and that was what killed her." Tears were falling silently from Izumi's eyes; she touched her cheek and seemed surprised to find it wet, lapsing into silence once again. This time, nobody interrupted, each retreating into their own thoughts for the moment.

* * *

Hiei looked down on the miserable little camp from his perch in the branches above it. There would be no fires tonight; they were too close to Kurogami's stronghold to risk that. He doubted many of them would be sleeping either. Hiei tried to remember the last time he had slept, then gave up when he realized it was most likely over a week ago. He didn't need that much sleep anyway. He certainly wasn't going to risk it with that woman around. It was his policy not to trust anyone, especially people who had been your enemies less than twenty-four hours prior.

As he took stock of everyone in the camp, his eyes narrowed. Kurama still hadn't transformed back, which was troubling to say the least. Hiei couldn't recall a time that he had been in this form for this long. Kurama himself had been troubled by it earlier. When Hiei had raised a questioning eyebrow, he had responded cryptically as usual. _"I think I'm becoming him?" Perhaps he is becoming you._

Hiei too still felt the residual effects of whatever the girl Shiki did. He didn't enjoy relying on what he saw as borrowed strength, but he had to admit the rush of energy that it produced was not unpleasant. And it wasn't just that. It felt as though all of his senses were honed more finely, all of his reactions timed more perfectly, than he had thought possible. And yet, it wasn't at all foreign. It all felt… right somehow. As though he were finally able to take full advantage of all his training and experience. Perhaps that was all it was?

He was brought away from these thoughts by someone attempting to climb his tree. He looked down just in time to see the woman spring from a lower branch and onto one about level with his, a few degrees to the right.

He scowled. "What are you doing?"

She raised an eyebrow, meeting his ire with a cold indifference. "Won't it be easier to keep an eye on me if I'm sitting right here?" She propped her scythe against her shoulder and tossed her helmet of black hair out of her face before leaning back against the trunk.

"Hn." He couldn't very well argue with that logic.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the both of them, Kurama had been having much the same thought process as Hiei. The problem was, _both_ Shuichi and Youko were having it. At the same time. And neither could figure out why.

_Why have we not transformed back yet?_

**How should I know? Seems to me it has something to do with whatever that girl-**

_Shiki._

**Whatever Shiki did to transform us in the first place. Not that I mind.**

_Well I would feel much more comfortable if-_

**Of course you would. **

There was a small moment of silence, and then:

**You cannot deny that you enjoy the power.**

_Perhaps._

This was a gross understatement, and they both knew it. The rush of strength that accompanied these transformations was bordering on intoxicating, and almost certainly addictive. What was more, they both seemed to feel it. This bothered Shuichi, but Youko seemed content to revel in it.

**It reminds me of the power I had before-**

_Before you were me._

**Indeed.**

_Will it be enough?_

**It will. **The fox's absolute confidence seemed to lift Shuichi's spirits somewhat, and the topic shifted.

**What is that girl?**

_She's mostly human, but-_

** I know what she is. I meant, what is she to you?**

_I don't follow._

**Yes you do. I'm asking exactly what you think I'm asking.**

_She is my junior student, and my friend. Perhaps- never mind._

**That explains it then.**

_Explains what?_

**Why I have the inexplicable and quite irritating desire to throw myself in front of anything that moves to attack her.**

_Ah. Yet…_

**That doesn't explain why **_**I**_** feel it. **

_Unless…_

_**We feel it. **_


	15. Chapter 15: Broken Barriers

_A/N: Unfortunately, I do not own YuYu Hakusho. Bloody tragedy if you ask me._

* * *

It was when Shiki felt the stirring of the stone still trapped in her body that she knew they were getting close. She glanced sideways at Izumi for confirmation, and saw all that she needed to see in the way the woman's eyes focused nowhere but forward. Every movement had grown sharp, deliberate, as though the water apparition was fighting every better instinct to get closer to Kurogami. _Or perhaps she's fighting not to go faster…_ The thought troubled her, and she realized she had no idea how Izumi would react to being in the proximity of her brother and her master again.

"Izumi?" She tried to infuse her concern in the question.

The older woman flicked her eyes briefly in Shiki's direction. Deciding that was as close as she'd get to an invitation to continue, Shiki pressed on.

"Will you be able to… resist Kurogami?"

Izumi exhaled sharply through her nose, jaw firmly set. "I don't know."

_Not exactly reassuring, _Shiki thought. _Still, it must be worse for her, not knowing if she'll have control of herself or not._

"Such is the burden of the stringed puppet," Youko contributed sardonically.

Shiki frowned. That was uncalled-for at best. But instead of getting irritated, Izumi smiled. It wasn't a happy smile, but a dry quirk of the lips. "Indeed. Rest assured, though, my strings are not as taut as they once were."

Youko seemed to derive some meaning from this statement and nodded slowly, though Shiki was at a loss. "Is that so?" He ventured. "I was under the impression that you had merely acquired new ones."

"So I have."

"Do be careful. A puppet pulled in too many directions cannot move at all."

"I don't suppose you have a blade handy?"

"No, but there is one who does."

At this point, Shiki had just about had it. The sad part was, this sort of thing happened to her all the time. Adults had their own cryptic ways of speaking, sometimes without any words at all, and saw fit to use them in front of her. It was absolutely maddening, especially because she was right there when they chose to do it, and so their intent was obviously to confound anyone else. Her usual pleasant expression must have slipped, because Izumi raised an eyebrow and indicated Shiki with her eyes, earning a smirk from Youko. More satisfyingly, however, they dropped the obscure metaphors and fell silent.

* * *

Youko was absolutely certain he should not be feeling this way. Specifically, he was sure he should not find a stormy-faced Shiki in any way _endearing, _of all things.

**Get out of my head, Shuichi! **He snarled. But there was no response, though he vaguely sensed amusement at his expense somewhere in their shared consciousness. **Too shared, lately.**

He attempted to direct himself towards that annoyingly smug and amused part. Of course, such a thing was extremely difficult. It had been easier when the mental barriers between himself and Shuichi had been definite. These days, they were fuzzy, when they even existed at all. Still, he was absolutely certain that he, Youko, was _not_ amused by this turn of events.

After a degree of searching (and a little too much introspection for his own tastes), he was able to locate what was most likely Shuichi. He made to suppress it, and then…

* * *

Kurama took a moment to process the distinct lack of claws on his hands before looking over at the two next to him. Izumi had merely arched an eyebrow, but Shiki's reaction was something else entirely. The girl had seemingly forgotten how to run, and nearly tripped over her own feet before righting herself and taking a couple of extra-long strides to catch up again. At first, she had seemed shocked by the suddenness of the change- she'd never actually _seen_ it happen before, after all- but after a moment her eyes seemed to light up, and a smile edged its way onto her face.

"Welcome back," she said, maintaining her usual calm demeanor, but forgetting to make her expression at all neutral.

Kurama felt the corners of his mouth twitch upwards involuntarily. "It feels as though I never left."

Her smile faltered, replaced by a look of bemusement, but he did not explain any further. It was as though some sense of levity had overcome him, but it had vanished with her smile, leaving him to much darker meditations. He and Youko were most certainly losing whatever separated them from each other, and the stone Shiki carried was surely the reason. No other explanation made sense; the timing was perfect, and nothing else of note had really changed.

The implications were something of a mixed bag. On the one hand, he and Youko weren't exactly separate beings to begin with, and he certainly didn't miss their internal dialogue that much. It was possible that, once completed, this process would allow him to change forms at will. Surely, Youko had managed it, albeit accidentally, by seeking out his gentler side. Kurama was almost certain that a few more uses of the stone would complete what the first had started, and that he would need only look to the darker side of his own personality to access his demonic abilities and form. Kurama knew that he was only half a person as he was; surely, what was happening was giving him back those parts of himself that his demon half had taken upon making residence in his spirit.

And yet, of this he could not be sure. Perhaps the incompleteness he felt as a human was only because he knew of what it was like to be something else. There were no other cases like his, no previous knowledge he could draw upon to understand with any certainty what was going on. And if he turned out to be wrong, well… he didn't mind Youko much, but that was far from wanting to _be _him.

_A quandary, indeed._ He surreptitiously looked at Shiki out of the corner of his eye. Perhaps it would be best to avoid her until his decision was made. She was, after all, the one mostly responsible for his predicament, even if she had no idea. Yes, he'd best keep his distance, especially since his logical capacities seemed to dull somewhat when he was in her company. This, too, bothered him. Try as he might, he could come up with no explanation for this. It was not the stone, else Hiei or Kuwabara would have felt it as well, and they were both perfectly fine as far as he could tell. _But if not that, then what?_

* * *

Shiki was confused. While this had happened on occasion before, it was not a sensation she enjoyed. What was worse, it seemed that nobody was going to be un-confusing her anytime soon. She had repeatedly tried to make eye contact with Kurama, to no avail. Afterward, she had raised an eyebrow at Izumi, who had just shrugged indifferently.

Clearly, she'd have to find another method. Normally, she would have dismissed the need to know what was happening as a busybody sort of thing to feel and pushed it out of her mind. This time, though, she decided she had to know. Kurama seemed distracted, and that wasn't going to be of any help when they fought Kurogami. Plus… no, she'd leave it at that. Give him a few hours, perhaps. But if he was still this troubled by tomorrow morning, she'd have to talk to him.

Searching for something to distract herself, she spied Botan floating on her oar a little ways ahead. Stretching her short legs for all they were worth, she managed to catch up. A little small talk could go a long way, even if she wasn't all that good at it. All she needed to do was ask a question or nod here and there, and the ever-lively Botan would take care of the rest.

* * *

Yusuke leaned back against the wall of his cell and sighed theatrically. This was getting boring. He wanted to get out of this room, and he wanted to do it now.

Not that he was put up badly, mind. As far as prisons go, the room wasn't all that terrible. There was an actual futon in the corner, and the covers seemed to have been washed fairly recently. It wasn't terribly cold, and the roof was quite leak-free. Though relatively comfortable, the room was windowless, and the door was sturdier than he would have thought possible. A well-aimed spirit gun blast had ricocheted dangerously off of the smooth, metallic surface. He wasn't sure if the walls would do the same, but after that, he decided it probably wasn't worth trying.

His head made contact with the wall behind him, and he groaned as black spots danced across his vision. He was pretty sure he was concussed; lifting his hand up to the area, he found that the abrasion was till not fully healed, and the contact with his fingers produced a sharp stinging. He grimaced. _Okay, not a good idea._

A sharp click reached his ears. Sitting up as straight as he could, he fixed his eyes on the door. Yusuke was surprised to see the one called Kaito enter. Usually, it was Hiroto who brought him his food. They obviously wouldn't trust weaker servants with the task of feeding him, but surely this was a little bit beneath the right-hand guy?

Yusuke was snapped out of his uncharacteristically long train of thought when Kaito tossed him a roll of bandages. His reflexes took over, and he caught it easily.

"What's this for?" He asked. His voice was a bit raspier than he would have liked. Didn't quite convey the devil-may-care attitude he was going for, but, hey, that's what happens when you haven't had anything to drink in a while.

"Your head wound." Kaito rolled his eyes. "Unless, of course, you'd rather it get infected?" He followed this statement by tossing a bottle of some nasty-looking fluid that would disinfect it. He left the bowl of rice and cup of tea he was carrying on a small table near the entranceway and turned to leave.

"Hey," Yusuke called after him.

Kaito stopped, but did not turn around.

Yusuke took this as an invitation to continue. "Just what the Hell are you people after?" The question was genuine. Yusuke wasn't one for explanations, but he was one for habit. And usually, the villains had monologued at him by this point in the game.

Kaito turned his head to look over his shoulder at Yusuke. "How old are you?" He asked suddenly.

Yusuke was taken aback enough by the question to answer it without smart-mouthing. "Seventeen."

Kaito snorted, but continued. "Would you say the world has changed in the time you've been a part of it?"

Yusuke shrugged. "Sure, why?"

"Have you ever thought that the changes weren't always for the better?"

The spirit detective went to scratch his head, then thought better of it. "Well, I guess so…" _What the Hell is this guy driving at?_

"Imagine having the power to reverse those changes, to put the world back the way it should be. Now imagine being alive for a thousand years, and having the power to change _that._ Perhaps then you will begin to understand what I seek." Kaito strode out of the room, pulling the door shut behind him, and Yusuke heard the lock click back into place. _What the-? I don't get it, but whatever. _

* * *

Shiki woke to the sensation of the morning sun on her face. She sat up, flinching slightly. Sleeping on nothing but forest floor with no fire to warm her exertion-cramped muscles was beginning to take its toll. Wincing as she stood, she stretched slowly as she made her way over to a nearby stream.

Weirdly enough, she was always able to sense when water was nearby. She supposed it was only logical, given her heritage, but her affinity with the stuff ended there. She liked a bath as much as the next person, and she was certainly not in danger of drowning should she choose to swim, but… She resolved to ask Izumi about it, when this was all over. It would be nice to have someone teach her the things her grandmother might have otherwise.

Checking the area immediately around her, she quickly shrugged off her clothes and stepped into the water. It was about waist-deep, but the current wasn't too bad. She scrubbed herself as best she could. The water wasn't exactly warm, but the sun had taken the chill out of it. She contemplated washing her clothes, but decided against it. They'd take far too long to dry, and she certainly didn't want to be wearing wet clothes when she fought.

Sighing, she sank down into the water to immerse her hair in it. Wet hair, she could deal with. In the absence of shampoo or a comb, she ran her fingers through it in an attempt to work the knots out. Briefly, she considered taking a page out of Izumi's book and dispensing with most of the length, only to smile sheepishly when she contemplated her parents' reactions. No, she was certain that this experience had changed her, and she knew that she would never be able to bend completely to the will of someone else again, but she was not entirely defiant and rebellious, either. She'd probably miss it the second it was cut, anyway.

Having mostly succeeded in eliminating the tangles, she squeezed the excess water out of her locks and climbed ashore, slipping quickly back into her garments. She knew nobody would intentionally interrupt her privacy, but she was self-conscious in the extreme and though the fewer chances taken, the better.

_Now, to find out what's irritating Kurama._

* * *

Kurama exhaled slowly. It had been quite some time since he'd felt the need to meditate, but here he was, legs folded, eyes closed, trying to empty his mind of troubling thoughts. And failing miserably. Thinking, it seemed, was not an easily-broken habit.

Nonetheless, he was not so distracted that he did not notice her enter the area. She was quiet, yes, but not stealthy, and it was not difficult to pick up the sound of footsteps in what was otherwise total silence. He frowned inwardly. Were even her footsteps so tentative? Or was he just nervous for some reason?

"Shiki," he acknowledged without opening his eyes. Truthfully, he had been expecting this. He'd been ignoring the poor girl for the better part of a day and a half; she had to wonder if something was wrong. And yes, he admitted, something was most definitely wrong. He was most certainly not going to tell _her_ that, however. It would do no good to burden her now of all times.

And thus the meditation. If they were truly to confront Kurogami today, he needed to be able to focus properly. But of course she chose this moment to sit at his side, and he found himself rapidly losing what little concentration he had gained.

"Kurama?" Her voice was pitched low, doubtless she was having some difficulty deciding what to say.

"Yes?" He replied, still not moving or opening his eyes. _Why am I so afraid to look at her?_

"Is something wrong? You've barely spoken to anyone for a while now. I mean, I know you're not exactly talkative, but Hiei talked more than you last night at dinner and…" She clamped her mouth shut, perhaps realizing that she was rambling .

He took a deep breath, studiously keeping his expression neutral. "You need not be concerned. Everything is fine."

"Then why won't you look at me?" Her voice was barely a whisper, weighted down by some raw feeling that he had not heard from her before.

Almost involuntarily, he opened his eyes, and found that he had lost his train of thought entirely. She had dropped her skilful façade, and was looking at him with undisguised worry. Her face was tinged slightly pink, as though she had scrubbed it, and her hair was damp and unbound, a few tendrils clung to her neck.

He closed his eyes, then opened them again. No, he had most definitely not imagined that. She was still there, still looking at him like that. He opened his mouth to reassure her, but found that something entirely different was escaping his tongue.

"Youko is gone. I cannot hear him anymore. I suspect that this is because we are becoming the same person." _Hm. Could have managed that with a bit more tact, Kurama._

A slow realization dawned in Shiki's eyes, and her next question was not a surprise. "How long?"

"Since the first time I transformed on this mission."

"This is my fault, isn't it? It's because I used the stone on you." Moisture gathered at the corners of her eyes, and she blinked fiercely.

Kurama cast about for something to say, but as was becoming far too frequent lately, he found himself at a loss. Then he remembered something she had said, and a slow smile crossed his face.

"Do not blame yourself. It is just as you said, remember? There never really was any Youko or Shuichi, just Kurama. Maybe everything is as it was supposed to be all along." He meant the words as comfort, but found himself believing them as he spoke them aloud. _Perhaps…_ He stood, and offered his hand so she could do the same.

Shiki stared at the proffered arm for a moment before grasping it in her own and standing. "Do you really mean that?" she asked.

His smile grew despite himself. "Yes. So please, shed no more tears." On an impulse, he reached a hand to her face and wiped away the wet streaks beneath her eyes.

Before logic had the chance to process the implications of what he had just done, she had collapsed against his chest, and all possibility of reason had escaped him. So he stood there like a fool while she wept against him. He knew that this was no longer about his troubles, but what they would face next. Like the rest of them, she had remained steadfast and strong for the past few days, not complaining even when the pace was hard and her limbs weary. But unlike the rest of them, he was certain, she blamed herself for all that was happening, and felt that it was her responsibility to end it. Which was at lest partially true. The stone had started this, and the stone would have to end it. But it wasn't her fault.

He stroked her head absentmindedly. Even half-wet, her hair was quite soft. He shook his head slightly, and tried to speak soothing words, knowing that what he said probably mattered very little. Then, just as quickly as she had leaned into him, she backed up. Her face was flushed, more so than her earlier ablutions could explain.

"I'm sorry," she said, expression wide-eyed and slightly fearful.

Kurama just shook his head, indicating (hopefully in a way that she would understand) that she hadn't done anything wrong.

She seemed to take a moment to compose herself, and, faster than he could register, her moment of weakness was gone, and her face was once again impassive, though he noted with some inner amusement that the blush had not entirely left her cheeks.

"Well," she began, tone businesslike, but not unkind. "I think we'd best prepare. Izumi wants to leave soon, I'll bet." She stopped, and allowed a small smile to crack her mask a bit. "Thank you," she added, much more softly. Then she turned from him and headed towards the campsite, gathering her hair into the customary ponytail as she went.

Kurama allowed himself a small sigh. It was odd. He could have sworn he felt an absence in the spot she had occupied just moments ago, and the feeling left him… wistful, somehow. He shook his head and watched her go, surprised to find a small smile playing on his lips. He followed shortly afterwards. He would think more about this later. For now, there was a battle that needed to be fought.


	16. Chapter 16: Rescue

_A/N: I still own nothing, and I'm running out of ways to express my sadness about this._

* * *

"Uh, okay guys, can we go over that one more time?" Kuwabara put a hand to the back of his head sheepishly. Still, he had learned long ago that it was better to ask again and know for sure than to be uncertain when it came to go-time. If that made people think he was an idiot, well, whatever.

"Of course." Kurama's voice was patient, even if he did seem a bit distracted. "We are splitting into two groups. Group 1 will consist of Hiei, Izumi, and Botan. Their job is to locate the place where Yusuke is being held and rescue him. If he is too injured to fight, Botan is to get him as far away from this place as possible while the other two rejoin us. If not, then we all meet whenever they have found him."

"Okay, so what're we doing then?"

"You, Shiki, and myself are going to make sure they can do this without trouble. It is our job to occupy anyone who finds us. I imagine the guard on Yusuke won't be too heavy, since he isn't what they're really after." Kurama's eyes flicked to Shiki, and Kuwabara frowned. To him, it didn't make much sense to take her in. Then again, he wasn't sure they'd be able to win without whatever weird thing she did. _Hell, I'm not even sure we'll win _with _it._

"Alright, then, let's get a move on! Can't stand around here all day!" Kuwabara made an ostentatious show of leaving the area, thrusting a fist into the air and stomping off as if to lead the group, causing Hiei to roll his eyes and Izumi to look at Kurama, who just shrugged indulgently. The loudmouthed teenager did, however, successfully break the uncomfortable tension that had been mounting. He really couldn't stand tension.

Kuwabara was aware of Shiki taking up a position behind him, and Kurama bringing up the rear. The other group walked roughly beside them as they approached the gates of what could only be Kurogami's castle.

The massive building's exterior was in a state of ill-repair. It hadn't been abandoned exactly, but neither had anyone really bothered to maintain the stonework, and the gardens visible behind the massive wrought-iron gate clearly had only a cursory maintenance inflicted upon them. And inflicted was the right word. Where a careful attendant would have trimmed and pruned, someone had merely hacked branches off of rosebushes and trees alike. Kurama surveyed the scene with distaste, and Kuwabara couldn't help but think that it looked like his sister had been through the place with a chainsaw right after that one time he'd almost been arrested. He shivered involuntarily. Say what you like about ancient demons, former Spirit Detectives or all kinds of other nasties, nothing compared to Shizuru on a rampage. _Huh. That one's pretty good. I'll have to use that sometime. Bet Urameshi will get a kick out of it._

His mental tangent was interrupted when the other group, Izumi in the lead, angled away from them, probably to use a lesser-known side entrance or secret passage or something.

"Watch out ahead, Kuwabara, I smell one of them." Kurama's voice was steady, but Kuwabara was confused.

"Smell? Since when do you-" He was unable to finish the sentence before he caught sight of Hiroto a few yards ahead. The demon or apparition or whatever he was- Kuwabara had never understood the difference- did not move as they approached, just watched them. _Huh- have to ask about that later. If there is a later. Dammit, Kuwabara, get your head in the game!_ As the three came to a standstill, a slow smile cracked Hiroto's face. "Oh? Just three? Did Izumi manage to kill that many of you then?"

Clearly, Kuwabara reckoned, this guy was not in the know. Izumi had indicated that Kurogami would have known of her betrayal the moment it happened. Something about bonds, or something. From the look Kurama was giving him, though, it would be better not to set the record straight on that one.

"Yeah, whatever!" he blustered instead. "That's better than you'll ever manage, peabrain!" Kuwabara looked back to his friends for agreement. Shiki's left eye was twitching ever so slightly, but Kurama just shook his head slowly. The two soon drew their weapons, however, when Hiroto stepped forward.

"Oh?" He said quietly. "I guess we'll see about that, now won't we?"

Kuwabara kind of wanted to smack himself on the forehead. That was not a good voice. That was the voice that villains always used when they decided they wanted to torture you to death very slowly instead of just killing you. _Me and my big mouth._ Still, the heroes always won in the end, didn't they? _Better not mess around this time._ He drew both his sprit swords and charged-

-only to be met with a solid wall of wind that pushed him back. Not exactly the once-bitten-twice-shy type, he charged again, trying with partial success to swipe through the wall this time. The resulting warped wind knocked him to the right instead of straight back, and he grinned as he saw Kurama's rose whip slice into the spot he had just vacated. Without enough time to conjure a second wall, Hiroto would surely be hit.

Or not. The big demon jumped out of the attack's range just in time. _Aw, shit. I forgot he was fast. _This was a definite problem, since it had been decided Shiki should avoid using the stone until he fight with Kurogami, just in case.

Although, the way things were looking right now, it might not be as bad as he thought. Kurama appeared to be faster that Kuwabara remembered as well, or at least faster than the usual human version. His speed had Hiroto on the defensive, for the most part, and Shiki had managed to hit him upside the head at least once in a style much like the first time they had met. With the two of them keeping him thoroughly busy, Kuwabara had time to find an opening. The guy's defenses were still pretty solid, but if Shiki had already managed it… _there!_ _Gotcha, you bastard!_

Kuwabara swung his left-hand sword in what he considered to be a pretty magnificent arc. Hiroto's right arm came up to block, but Kuwabara was able to turn the blade so that it sliced clean through the limb. He was about to bring his second sword up for the finisher when he heard a shout.

"Stop!" Kuwabara's blade halted just inches from Hiroto's chest, but the man was too preoccupied looking in shock at the stump where his forearm had been to notice. The spirit energy in the sword had cauterized the wound, so it was only bleeding minimally. Deciding it was safe to turn around, he sought the source of the voice.

"There's no need to kill him." Shiki was looking at the man with something akin to pity. "His master has clearly forsaken him."

"Whaddya mean by that?"

Kurama frowned. "We may have been stronger and better-prepared this time, but that does not account for how easy this was. Clearly, Kurogami has withdrawn whatever support or power he lent to this servant. He will trouble us no longer, I imagine."

Kuwabara shrugged. "Eh, if you say so, Kurama."

Shiki smiled brightly at him. "Thank you, Kuwabara."

"Uh… sure."

"Well, we'd better get going then," she continued.

* * *

Botan wound her way through what seemed an endless stretch of hallways behind Izumi, but in front of Hiei. She was beginning to wonder if they'd ever find Yusuke. Guilt clenched at her gut as she remembered the circumstances of his kidnapping. She had been awake, and still unable to do anything to stop it. She purposefully derailed her train of thought. She was here trying to save him now, and that was what mattered. He was alive, she just knew it.

If she hadn't been paying attention, she would have run her oar straight into Izumi's back. As luck would have it, she was able to avert such a disaster by a measure of about three inches. The water apparition had stopped in the center of another identical long hallway- apparently nefarious demons were bad with interior planning- and turned sharply to the door on her left.

"He's in here."

"Ah," said Botan, greatly relieved. Then she took a look at the door. "I don't suppose you have the key to this monstrosity, do you?"

Izumi smiled sardonically and pulled a large brass key from somewhere in her obi.

"Ah, well, good then!"

A few seconds later, the large door swung open on oiled hinges to reveal a rather ordinary-looking bedroom, with one very un-ordinary occupant.

"Yusuke!" Botan let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

The Spirit Detective's eyes snapped open. He appeared to be having a hard time registering her appearance; if his bandaged head was anything to go by, he probably had a concussion.

His eyes cleared, though, and he seemed pretty normal- for him anyway- when he casually waved at her and then sat up.

"What the hell took you guys so long?"

Hiei snorted, but it was doubtful anyone heard him over the lecture that Botan launched into.

* * *

Shiki grimaced as they passed under a few stone archways before reaching the actual front door, if it could be called a door. Portcullis was probably a better word. Which was weird, because she had never before considered that word even remotely useful.

The blue-eyed girl shook her head. She was so nervous even her _thoughts _were rambling. She looked to her right, where Kurama was staring forward, stony-faced and unreadable. Kuwabara, for his part, looked just about as wary as she felt. When they came to the massive door-like _thing_, he strode forward, probably glad of something to do, and heaved.

Nothing happened. Shiki could have laughed. They'd come all this way, only to be barred by an oversized door. The irony was not lost on her. Still, Kurogami and those who served him were fools if they thought she and the others were going to let themselves give up now. She made to help Kuwabara push, but at her approach, it seemed to swing open of its own accord.

"Well that wasn't creepy at all," said Kuwabara, eyeing the door suspiciously.

_And if it wasn't creepy, it wasn't cliché, either,_ Shiki thought sardonically. At this point, it was either sarcasm or terror, and she was certainly sick of being afraid.

All hope of avoiding that particular emotion was pretty much voided by the scene she found within. They were standing in some kind of grand entrance hall, at the center of which stood an altar like the kind she had seen in churches. Except that it was much larger and more, well, sinister-looking. The designs carved into it evoked twisted, sickened trees and human death. The room smelled ranker than rotting fish.

"Aw, nasty. Who died in there?" Kuwabara waved a hand in front of his face in a futile attempt to dispel the stench.

Shiki resisted the urge to agree and focused on the scene before her. It was not the appearance of the room or even the smell that scared her, however. She _felt_ something in there, something that made the hair on her arms and the back of her neck stand on end. It was like the very air was permeated with the essence of a being so foul most demons would run in fear for their lives. And here she was, marching towards it. _Well, at least I'm not alone. _Quick glances to either side of her proved that she was indeed in the company of friends. _And that is enough. It has to be. _

Her gaze shifted to the other side of the room once more, and she was able to tear her gaze from the altar to see Kaito emerging from a door on one side whilst Hiei and the others burst through the other. She processed this barely fast enough to follow on the heels of Kuwabara as he followed a much swifter Kurama.

They were reunited, just in time to face their next foe.


	17. Chapter 17: Resolution

_I still don't own YuYu Hakusho, but Shiki, Kurogami, Kaito, Izumi, and anyone else you don't recognize (and the plot) are indeed mine. _

* * *

Hiei's group skidded to a halt behind him. Kaito, for his part, merely smiled and bowed at the waist.

"Welcome to the home of my master. So good of you to come," he said smoothly, looking for all the world as though he had anticipated this exact situation. Of course, Hiei wouldn't put it past him at all. The guy reminded him of Kurama. Or at least an annoyingly sycophantic version thereof.

Hiei felt someone stir behind him, and readied himself. Perhaps they would be able to just get this over with quickly. His eyes followed Izumi as she moved to his front, scythe at the ready.

"Kaito," she said softly. Hiei shifted his weight from one foot to the other and used his thumb to move his sword about an inch or so out of its sheath. He was prepared for just about anything, including Izumi's betrayal. Yes, if she turned that weapon on them, he would be ready.

When her brother didn't respond, Izumi continued. "I'm free." She said it as though she was just realizing it herself. Hiei's eyes narrowed as he watched a play of subtle emotions pass across the man's face. Shock, disbelief, then… fury? He couldn't make sense of it.

"The bond is broken." The usually cold woman's tone held a note of wonder, and her eyes flicked briefly to Shiki, then to each of the others in turn. Hiei, for his part, never wavered in his observation of both Izumi and her brother.

Which was why he was prepared when Kaito lunged, and swiftly slid his sword from its sheath, turning the flat end to block the man's fist. The contact reverberated through the metal, and the force sent Hiei back a few inches. Luckily, it seemed, this exchange had been enough to get everyone on their guard, and he soon had to jump backwards to avoid the nasty slice that Izumi was aiming in their direction.

Her eyes, which had for a few moments seemed alight with some kind of revelation, had turned cold and dull once more. Doubtless, she was exactly the opposite of people like him, who tended to channel their rage productively when fighting. Rather, she likely felt none at all, instead relying on an ability to shut out any feeling.

He focused on Kaito. The man seemed to be reaching for something beside the altar. _Now! _Hiei rushed forward, intent on taking out his opponent while he was distracted.

What happened next was almost too fast to register. Hiei realized belatedly that he had fallen into a trap. Just as the other group reached the site of the confrontation, Kaito grabbed a spear off the ground. Hiei, unprepared for a longer-range weapon, dove to the side, but it was too late. The spear was headed toward him, fast and sure.

Yet it seemed he was uninjured. He completed his dive with a roll that neatly took him out of range. _What? I should have-_ the thought was abruptly cut off when he turned. Botan, Shiki, and Kuwabara all wore expressions that were masks of horror. Yusuke had his fists clenched at his sides, and even Kurama was tense. He quickly followed the direction of their gazes.

The spear had indeed found a mark, though not the one it was intended for. Instead, the bloody end protruded from the woman's- Izumi's- back. Her scythe dropped from her hands, unused. _She wouldn't have had the time, _he realized slowly.

"Trust me yet?" She managed to choke out.

"You're a fool," he replied. She shouldn't have done that. He wouldn't have- not for her at least.

She smiled, and even managed to laugh weakly. "I know. But better me than her." With that, she slumped to the ground.

Everyone seemed to freeze for a moment, as though still processing what had occurred. For the briefest second, a look passed across Kaito's face that Hiei could not identify, but it swiftly subsided into nothingness. Mechanically, he gripped the spear by the shaft and pulled. Izumi was too weak to register much protest, though she did groan feebly. Hiei contemplated attacking again, but wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. It would seem that they'd have to fall back on Shiki's plan after all.

* * *

Shiki made to rush to Izumi, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her short. The tears that had built behind her eyes upon Izumi's sacrifice finally spilled over when Kurama shook his head. She was too far gone.

Their plans were falling apart. Nobody could have counted on this being the way events turned. They were _supposed_ to deal with Kaito before Kurogami was resurrected, but now it seemed that it was too late. She watched, paralyzed with horror, as Kaito, surrounded by the spirit shield he had used last time they had met, pulled the spear from his twin's body and carried it over to the altar, where he allowed Izumi's blood to fall onto the central platform. She resisted the urge to shrink back when he looked directly at her over his gruesome task.

"Only blood from a relative of the one who performed the seal will do. And it must be heartsblood. It was supposed to be you, but my sister will suffice."

Shiki shook her head. This couldn't be real. "How… how could you just… _kill_ her?" She yelled, voice reaching shrieking pitch. "She was your _family!_" Something flashed in Kaito's eyes. Was it… guilt?

"I no longer have any family. I gave up all such loyalty when I took my oath. But you shall see: what I gained in return was much better." He stepped back from the altar and lowered the spear.

As if on cue, the earth shook, cracking the stone floor under Shiki's feet. This was accompanied by a shower of plaster and dust from the ceiling, which all but blinded them to what happened next.

Shiki inhaled sharply, which caused the unclean air to fill her lungs and set her to coughing uncontrollably. She stumbled backward and fell into someone. Large hands steadied her.

"Hey, you okay?" It was Kuwabara. Far from the directed fury he had entered this place with, he now seemed to be struggling with something. If he was anything like her- and she had a sneaking suspicion that in this, at least, he was- then the idea of killing one's own sibling had shocked him. He seemed to be recovering from it better than she was though, for he managed a weak smile as she nodded and regained her feet.

_Of course he can deal with it- he's seen bloodshed before._ Only then did the full weight of what was happening settle onto her chest. She had never seen anyone killed before, and it occurred to her that she would have to be willing to face such things if she were to be any use at all to her friends.

_But still…_ had Izumi known that the seal required the blood of one of Yuki's relatives? And Kaito had said the plan was for it to be _her _blood. Which could only mean… _Yuki's child._ That was the only possible explanation. Yuki's child had survived, and, at some point, had children of its own, down to her grandmother and her mother and Shiki herself. Which meant that Izumi and Kaito were her aunt and uncle, after a fashion.

The knowledge did nothing to calm the twisting feeling in her gut. Somehow, that made the stakes all the higher, her goal all the more necessary. It explained a great many things, and yet changed nothing at all. It only gave her more desire to see this ended.

She peered through the fog created by falling plaster dust. Kuwabara was still beside her, and she could barely make out the dark shape that was Hiei about ten feet in front. She _felt_ rather than saw Kurama, a strange observation that she ignored for the moment, simply content to know he was there. As for the others… she couldn't see anything through this blasted shroud. She assumed- hoped, really- that they were all somewhere near Hiei. It wouldn't do to separate when they couldn't see, especially since this cover probably made it hard for the demons among them to smell, either.

As she was deliberating what to do, she noticed Kurama step in front of her. He gestured for her to follow, and put a finger to his lips for silence. Trusting that whatever he was thinking was smarter than the nothing she had so spectacularly managed to come up with, she repeated the signals to Kuwabara, just in case he hadn't seen.

The three of them moved swiftly but more or less silently towards Hiei, whose red eyes flashed as he observed them. He, too, made no noise, and an eerie silence permeated the room as the earth's tremors gradually subsided to murmurs.

As the dust began to settle, Shiki was seized by a blind panic. Sweat slicked her palms, and her heart hammered frantically in her chest. She almost wanted the air to remain thickly clouded like this, just so she wouldn't see what waited for her when it cleared. She wanted her terror to remain nameless, irrational, so that she might banish it with more ordered thoughts. She knew she was a coward for thinking it, but what did that matter?

But it was not to be. A few more sickening moments passed before an image began to resolve itself before them.

"Kurogami," the name escaped her lips as barely more than a whisper, and the taste it left in her mouth caused her to shudder. She would have thought herself insane for thinking such a thing, were it not for Kuwabara's barely-controlled shaking at her left. The figure in front of her exuded malice matched only by power, and she resisted the unfettered desire to shrink from it, to turn and flee. At the same time, there was something in it that called to a part of her nature that she did not understand; something that whispered of strength and dominion and freedom.

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and opening them again, trying to subdue the effect this… _aura_… was having on her. When she again looked up, it was with more clarity.

The figure himself wasn't the towering, hulking monstrosity she had thought he would be. His bearing could only be described as aristocratic. His hair was bone-white, his eyes a dull, fathomless black. No irises or pupils, just black from one lid to the other. Kaito bowed before him, one hand crossed over his chest in what Shiki presumed was a gesture of fealty.

Kurogami glanced at Kaito for a brief moment, then turned his gaze so it locked onto Shiki's.

"Kill the extras," he pronounced, loud enough for everyone to hear, and Shiki could not stifle a shudder. Even his _voice _was strange; something feral and barely-contained suffused it, and it had a strange multiplicity, as though several people were speaking at once. She shook herself. Now was not the time to be intimidated. She could cower in fear later. Right now, she had a job to do.

She forced her eyes downward, to her foe's neck, and spotted what she was looking for. A small, black stone was hanging from a leather cord, prominent against his red tunic. She swallowed and looked at Kurama. He was clearly not enthused by what he read in her face, but she shook her head. There was no time to argue.

"Very well," he assented aloud. The others, attuned to the silent exchange, readied their weapons, and Botan took to the air, to direct the flow of battle from above. Their strategy depended on their ability to adapt, to shift fighters from one battle to the other, and only Botan would be able to tell them when they needed to.

Shiki took a deep breath and searched out the power that resided just above her heart. Power that was not hers, but consented to her use, flowed outward, channeled into each of her friends. She felt the corresponding surge in spirit energy, and was almost relieved when they leapt forward to engage Kaito as a group.

She had been almost certain that Kurogami didn't want her dead. The fact that Kaito had been planning to kill her to break the seal on him had caused her to doubt this, but the complete lack of surprise that his master exhibited upon his release led her to believe otherwise. Kurogami had likely been planning to use Izumi the entire time, and her aunt had simply facilitated with her betrayal.

Sadness and an unspeakable anger welled up inside Shiki, but she suppressed the feelings. She had not been trained to fight like Yusuke, and her emotions did not make her stronger like they did Kuwabara. No, she had been raised from her very birth to be a stoic okami's daughter, and to never lose her cool. Her fighting style was an extension of this, and if she lost her focus or allowed rage to control her, the battle would be over before it had begun.

And so Shiki did what Shiki did best: she pushed back her anger, quelled her fear, and arranged her features into a suitable façade. She felt weak and useless, but she would force herself to be strong and skilled. These thoughts firmly in mind, she took a deep breath and sprang forward, staff in hand.

* * *

Kurama did not give voice to the noise of frustration that grew in his throat. The power that Shiki had lent them had disappeared almost immediately, probably due to her proximity to Kurogami's stone. That would leave Kurogami weaker as well, but it seemed to be having no effect at all on Kaito.

The water apparition stood passively behind the impenetrable barrier that was his spirit shield. There was an almost imperceptible smirk on his face. He was toying with them, and Kurama knew it.

The redhead watched as Kuwabara launched himself once again at the shield, this time employing his dimension sword. For a moment, it seemed as though this would work. The sword sank hilt-deep into the barrier, but for some reason Kuwabara's hand could not follow it. The high-schooler grunted in frustration as he pulled it loose.

Yusuke was attempting a different tactic entirely. "Who the Hell just sits there behind a shield? Why don't you fight us for real, ya coward?" A spirit gun blast accompanied this for emphasis, but ricocheted harmlessly off the kingfisher-blue surface of Kaito's defense.

Their opponent widened his smirk just enough for Yusuke to notice its presence, and the teenager let off a string of profanities.

"He intends to, Yusuke," Kurama replied calmly. "After we've used up all our strength."

But was that really all there was to it? Clearly, Kaito believed he could kill them all, weakened or not, so why wait? Unless… _he stalls. But to what end? _On a hunch, Kurama shifted some of his focus to Shiki and Kurogami. The answer likely lay there.

Kurogami was speaking. "You bear a striking resemblance to her, you know. I don't suppose you could be persuaded to join me?" Shiki was silent as she launched attack after attack, all of which were deftly dodged. For now, at least, Kurogami had no intention of retaliating.

"No, I suppose not. Think of it though. A world where humans and demons exist together once more. Granted, the humans wouldn't last too long, but wouldn't it be grand? All beings following a single mandate: be strong or die. Think of the possibilities, of the beings we could become. Stronger, faster, better beings, as we were in ancient times. Even as little as a few hundred years ago, we all had so much more power than the pathetic excuses for demons that live today. If only the worlds had not been separated… but I intend to fix this damage. Once more, I ask: will you join me? Lend me the power of the stone within you?"

Shiki stopped her assault, leaning heavily on her staff, trying to catch her breath. "Of course, I hope you understand that if you choose not to, your friends will pay the price." He let the implications hang in the air.

_Well, that explains the stalling. _As he thought this, Kurama remembered with some trepidation that this was the very threat that had nearly worked on Shiki last time. Had it not been for the secondary plan he had come up with, she would have been theirs a long time ago. Now, however, there was no second plan, and Kurama felt the increasingly familiar bite of worry twist his gut. He opened his mouth, to tell her not to give in, but she was already speaking.

"My friends," she said coldly, allowing each word to drop with the weight of stone, "are not so weak as to fall to you, or any other tyrant. They would never allow me to give into you, not even to save their lives. And I trust and respect them enough to do as I must." She stepped back, and held her staff out before her, but did not attack. Perhaps Kurogami could have assaulted her then, but he seemed too interested in figuring out what she was doing. Kurama noticed that even as she finished speaking, Yusuke and Kuwabara's faces had broken into wide grins, and they were pounding away at Kaito's shield with renewed vigor. Even Hiei managed a gruff "hn" before returning his attention to the matter at hand.

Kurama, however, kept most of his focus on Shiki. The posture she was using seemed familiar somehow… like the one she had adopted when first trying to learn to control her spirit energy. If her concentrated frown was anything to go by, she seemed to be channeling more energy into the metal staff.

Sure enough, a few moments later, a burst of blue-purple light issued forth from the end of the weapon, and resolved itself into a naginata's blade comprised entirely of spirit energy. Kurama was reminded of Kuwabara's sword. _When did she find the time to learn that?_ Perhaps it was something Genkai had taught her; either way, Shiki had managed to surprise both himself and certainly Kurogami.

* * *

Shiki let out the breath she hadn't known she was holding. It had worked. It had actually _worked._ Her excitement caused her concentration to falter slightly; she sobered and redoubled her efforts as the blade at the end of her staff wavered, then solidified again.

Genkai had, of course, explained the rudiments of manifesting spirit energy in this way, and so Shiki knew the theory of it. The rest had come from observing Kuwabara and Yusuke, both of whom fought with just such a technique. Still, she hadn't been sure she'd be able to manage it. To see it now, working just as she had willed it, would have made her smile had she been in nearly any situation but this.

As it was, she made sure the technique would hold, before returning her focus to Kurogami. He was regarding her with a sort of detached interest, like a spectator at a zoo. He still emitted a frightening energy, but by this point, Shiki was running on too much adrenaline to care.

Her hands tightened on her staff, and without preamble or warning, she rushed her opponent again. This seemed to bring Kurogami back into the fight, and he moved aside just in time to avoid the bite of the blade. Naginata style was a little different form the kind used with a staff, and Shiki used that to her advantage, striking in ways that did not resemble what she had been doing earlier.

Unfortunately, when her initial attack missed by only a hairsbreadth, Kurogami decided it was time to actually engage her. As she swung her weapon at his legs, he jumped, propelling himself over her head.

Too slow to meet his midair advance with steel, Shiki tried instead to leap out of the way. Only partially successful, she felt a sting on her right shoulder, swiftly followed by a numbness all down the corresponding arm. She rolled and recovered, but her arm wasn't responding well to her commands. It felt sluggish and unresponsive, as though she were moving it through water instead of air.

"Kurama!" Shiki was vaguely aware of Botan's shout. "Shiki needs help."

_Do I? _she thought dreamily. _Yes, I suppose I might at that. _Shiki processed her own train of thought, frowned, and shook her head. _What the? _It seemed her thoughts were growing sluggish, too.

She glanced at Kurogami, and the glint in his eyes confirmed it. "Do you like my neurotoxin?" He asked casually. "I'm afraid your thoughts will continue to spiral towards chaos, child, until you have no control left at all. I recommend you try to enjoy it."

_Chaos. _So that's what the aura was. It petrified her, and yet called to some part of her nature at the same time. Perhaps the demonic side? No, humans were just as chaotic as demons, sometimes more so.

_Ah, stop! This doesn't matter now. I have to maintain focus. Have to… have to fight him. But why?_

* * *

Kurama took his exit from the confrontation with Kaito, moving aside and allowing Hiei and the others to spread out a little more to compensate for the gap in their ranks.

He jumped into the other fight without really pausing to assess the situation, which was just as well. He only barely managed to come between Kurogami and the strike that was clearly meant to incapacitate Shiki. This surprised the other demon enough to cause him to divert the attack entirely. Kurama's eyes flicked to the girl. She appeared to be in some sort of trance, dazed at the very least. Unsurprising, considering the chaotic pulses that Kurogami was emitting at this proximity. The usually emotionally passive Kurama found that the suppressed desires of his demon self, those that urged him to fight and revel in the gory demise of those who might stand in his way, were being drawn towards the surface of his consciousness.

One does not successfully tame these baser instincts on a daily basis only to lose control at an inopportune moment, however, and Kurama found that it was not yet unbearably difficult to keep his rational mind in control of his actions. He reached out and placed a hand on Shiki's shoulder. The contact seemed to snap her out of whatever reverie she had been in, at least for the most part, and she smiled weakly at him, shaking her head to clear the last vestiges of bleariness from her mind.

The two swiftly turned back to their task, however, and found that Kurogami was gazing at them levelly, as though appraising something. Whatever it was, it only kept him contemplating for a millisecond more, until he once again launched himself at them.

The two dodged different ways. Kurama was the first to recover, and he realized with some exasperation that Kurogami seemed intently focused on attacking Shiki first, which would make this substantially harder.

_As though I ever thought it would be easy._

* * *

Izumi watched with the apathy born of extreme pain as her blood flowed outward onto the stone floor. Guessing from the amount of time she'd been lying here, she probably had but a few minutes yet to live.

She fully appreciated the irony of her situation. She had long ago given up her freedom to save her life, when Kurogami had forced her to make the bond. Then, somehow, meeting Yuki's descendant and her strange friends had given her the strength to sever it, just enough to get them here. And then, in the moment she had declared herself free, she had been cut down.

Really, she supposed she had it coming. You could only do so many terrible things before it came back to haunt you. Why should the one good deed she had managed in more hundreds of years than she cared to think about be enough to redeem her? No, she had not done it to be redeemed, nor even to be freed. She had just done as she always had: as she must.

_And there is one more thing that I must do._

She carefully flexed her fingers. It seemed she was numb enough now that the pain no longer felt unbearable. Slowly, cautiously, she raised herself to a sitting position. Pain lanced through her chest, and she bit her tongue until it bled to keep herself from crying out.

Surveying her surroundings, she found that things were rather as she had predicted, but not as she hoped. The two boys and the suspicious one were unable to penetrate Kaito's defense, and the fox and Shiki were both sporting numerous cuts and bruises. More worrying, however, was the fact that they both seemed to be running out of steam. She fixated briefly on the figure of Kurogami, and bile rose to her throat as she fought the need to use the last of her energy protecting him. A wave of resentment washed over her. He had twisted the sacred bond of her people, and killed her sister. She was not about to give in this time.

Her eyes finally fell on her scythe, laying not five feet away. _Perfect, _she thought grimly.

* * *

Hiei noted the woman's movements through narrowed eyes, only occasionally flicking his gaze towards where she was struggling to reach her weapon. He didn't want Kaito following his sightline and discovering that she was still alive, though why he cared, he didn't know. Izumi was dying, and therefore it did not matter if her brother saw her or not, she was bound to fall soon anyway. Perhaps if he did find out, and decided to administer a coup de grace, he would be distracted enough for Hiei to slip through his defenses.

The fire apparition dismissed the idea as stupid. Kaito's defense was clearly an all-encompassing barrier, it wouldn't matter whether or not his back was turned. So Hiei kept Kurogami's servant busy, and allowed Izumi to do whatever she thought necessary.

* * *

Kurama's face was set in a sort of grim smile. They were fighting a losing battle impressively, but the result was still painfully obvious.

Had their opponent not been possessed of an obviously unnatural level of power and speed, Kurama was certain he would have fallen beneath their combined onslaught by now. As it was, Kurogami seemed able to shrug off wounds that would have killed another, and Kurama observed them healing almost before his eyes.

It seemed that even though the proximity of the stones was keeping Shiki's from working, it wasn't having the full effect on Kurogami's. _But why? Perhaps he can just use his to the fullest where Shiki cannot?_

Kurama spared a glance at his companion. Even under the strain of the battle, she was able to maintain her composure, though the hands that gripped her naginata were white-knuckled and shaking. The two worked remarkably well together, he had noticed. He could read subtle shifts in the flow of her spirit energy and predict what she would do next, though he did not know how it was that she could anticipate his movements so well. He had a feeling that if he asked, she would not be able to answer either.

Kurama shook his head grimly. Whatever it was, it wasn't enough. Even had their teamwork been entirely flawless, Kurogami still would have had the advantage. As it was, both of them were bleeding steadily from numerous cuts and the occasional gash, and Shiki's use of one of her arms was still shaky at best. Kurama had discovered early on that without Shiki's stone, he was unable to transform, though he could feel his demon consciousness on the edges of his perception, just out of his reach.

He gritted his teeth as Kurogami began another advance. He would protect her, protect Shiki. Of this, at least, he was absolutely certain. He had lived long enough, and her life was just beginning. The thought surprised him a little. While not an unkind person, he was not generally what anyone would describe as self-sacrificing. Perhaps that was just because there were few situations he could not resolve without needing to be. But now, he understood. It was not that he would die to save her life, it was that he would do anything to ensure she lived, and dying was a possible side effect.

Satisfied that this approach, at least, was logical given the value he placed on Shiki's life, he shifted his weight, feeling her move behind him and knowing that she would approach from the left.

_To the right, then, _he thought grimly.

* * *

Izumi tightened her grip on the scythe in her hand, planting the butt of it firmly in the ground and struggling to stand. The first couple of times, the effort was simply too much, and she fell back to the floor. Not about to give up, she suppressed a moan and tried again, this time throwing herself at it with all she could manage. This caused even more blood to rush out of the wound in her chest, and she was left gasping, but on her feet.

Kaito, the fool, was too busy taunting his three opponents with his 'perfect defense' as he called it. Izumi hadn't been about to correct his assumption about the completeness of his guard, and now she was glad of it.

She caught the eyes of the one called Hiei, and made a feeble motion she hoped he would interpret as a signal to keep attacking. Not that she thought he would need any urging on that one. Still, he seemed to understand and redouble his efforts, the other two following his lead. She hoped that third eye on his forehead could tell him something about her plan, because she didn't have enough time to try and communicate all of it in signs.

She lurched as silently as she was able to towards Kaito, face set in a grimace. Kurogami had been so very wrong, all those years ago. There was nothing glorious in revenge, or ridding the world of the weak and spineless. Nor was there any joy in victory, when victory meant death for someone. Still, Izumi's mind was better than most at separating what was right from what was necessary. Perhaps she was _too_ good at that, and had eventually forgotten that such things as right and wrong even existed, let alone what they were. Nevertheless, she knew in her secret heart, the part of her that she thought had died with Yuki, and the only part that had ever resisted Kurogami's rule, that what she was about to do was the best thing she could.

She came to a stop about ten feet from Kaito's back. She stared hard at Hiei, willing him to understand her thoughts. _Attack on my signal, all at once. Please._ She thought she saw him nod slightly, but she could have been mistaken. Either way, there wasn't much time. She could already feel herself swaying on her feet, dizzy with blood loss.

Izumi turned her eyes to her brother's shield. It was a vibrant blue, though almost transparent. It flickered with deeper blues and the occasional purple or green hue. As someone's weapon would glance off the surface, color would seem to concentrate in that area, then fade back into the roiling pattern of shades a moment later.

The water apparition closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Now!" She bellowed with all the force she could muster.

Hiei attacked without hesitation. Whether this was because he had understood her earlier efforts to contact him or simply because he had no reason not to, she did not know. Either way, the attacks of the other two were not far behind.

Kaito was startled, and the light of his barrier flashed haphazardly as he tried to overcome his shock and block three very strong attacks at the same time. Izumi allowed a slow smile to spread across her face as she saw the area furthest away from the attacks- and closest to her- lose all hue entirely and take on the appearance of glass.

She seized the opportunity and sprang forward, allowing her momentum and the weight of her scythe to carry her the rest of the way. Kaito's barrier fell to a shattering blow from the weapon. With all she had left, she reversed the direction of the blade without reducing its speed.

Her smile disappeared as metal met flesh, then caught on bone. She released the weapon, and Kaito fell like a stone, crumpling to the ground. Izumi's strength at last gave out, and she fell to the floor beside him.

"I…Izumi…" Kaito mumbled, blood bubbling in his throat. "Forgive me… I only wished to…" He coughed weakly, and his eyelids fell shut.

"I know," she said softly. A single tear slid down her cheek as she clasped her brother's hand. Then she, too, closed her eyes for the last time.

* * *

Shiki forced down what would likely have been a growl of frustration. _This isn't working! _Her mind screamed with all the agitation she wouldn't allow her face to show. Kurogami was far too strong for the likes of her, stone or no stone, and Kurama was doing his best just to keep her alive. Her wounds had slowed her, and she was no longer able to feel the rushing sensation that accompanied her whenever the two of them fought in tandem. She just wasn't strong enough to keep up anymore…

She watched as Kurama attacked yet again, and flinched when Kurogami repelled the assault with practiced ease. _No, no, please! Not him, not them! _She tried again to access her stone, but found the power still blocked by Kurogami's. Kurama was thrown back onto the floor. _No! Let me through! _She fought against the barrier between her stone and her consciousness, flinging herself at it repeatedly.

Desperation lent her strength, and as Kurama pulled himself to his feet, her fleeting and slightly irrational joy at the fact he was still alive did the rest. Once more, she flung her inner self at whatever separated her from the stone, and was rewarded when she felt something crack under her assault.

All of the sudden, she was pulled entirely within herself, and she collapsed on the floor.

* * *

_She was conscious of a darkness that seemed somehow familiar. Yes, she had experienced this once before, when one of her stones had been taken from her. Then, she had felt emptied, as though she was missing a vital part of herself. This time, though she drifted slowly through her own mind, there was no loneliness, only peace._

_ Peaceful though she may have been, she was not content to stay. "I suppose you're still there somewhere?" She asked the space before her._

**I am.**

_"I think I understand what you said, last time. I think I am beginning to find my own power. My own purpose," she thought of her friends. "My own reasons."_

**Good. Does that mean you are ready to do what must be done?**

_She nodded. "I understand, I think. And yes. I know what I have to do. I am ready to stand on my own," she replied, smiling as she recalled the voice's words to her from before._

* * *

Shiki was abruptly hurled back into consciousness. She blinked slowly a few times, and allowed the world to fall back into focus. She met Kurama's eyes, and was both surprised and inexplicably warmed by the unguarded worry she saw reflected in them. She nodded once, just to let him know she was okay, and he turned his attention back to Kurogami, who was regarding her with something resembling puzzlement.

She leaned heavily on her staff as she hauled herself to her feet. The blade on the end had disappeared, but she barely registered this as she prepared herself for the onrushing wave of pain she knew was coming.

Sure enough, a ripple of agony seemed to set her skin on fire from the inside out. Shiki locked her jaw firmly in place and did not cry out as she closed her eyes against the torturous sensation that seemed to spread outward from her heart. She wondered if her infant self had hurt this much when the stones were first given to her, and was glad she did not know the answer.

Still, this time was different. She was voluntarily relinquishing the stone, and so was able to retain consciousness even as a white sphere about two inches across materialized in her free hand. Either that, or she had simply become, as the voice of the stone-Yuki's voice, she was almost certain- had suggested, strong enough to deal with it now.

She felt the stone grow warm in her hand. Was that… approval? _I suppose I could believe anything at this point._ Shiki closed her fingers over it, and shifted her grip on her pole to a one-handed style that Jii-chan had taught her what seemed like a very long time ago. She would have to give this everything she had. Readying herself, she took stock of her spirit energy. Without the stones there to block it, her power coursed freely through her body. It wasn't as much power as she sensed from Kurama's demon form or Hiei or Yusuke, but it had to be enough.

"Now!" she heard a voice shout.

Though the cue hadn't been meant for her, she took it as a sign.

_So be it._

* * *

Kurama watched with an increasing twisting in the pit of his stomach as the tremors wracked Shiki's slight frame. She did not make a sound, but he could tell the pain was extreme. Ordinarily, this lapse in his guard would have spelled his end, but Kurogami seemed just as distracted as he.

When Shiki at last straightened, he caught a flash of something in one of her hands. Before he could ponder the significance of this, he felt Kurogami shift, and abruptly turned to face the demon behind him, even as a cry of "Now!" rent the air. He felt Shiki's spirit energy surge behind him, and a split second later, realized what was happening.

Unfortunately, that spilt second was one too late. He was faced with a choice: try and stop her and take away what might be their only chance for victory in the process, or step aside and allow this to happen. For what seemed like an eternity, but could not have been more than another heartbeat, he was crushed by the weight of the decision he knew he must make, and then he swallowed hard and moved out of Shiki's path, allowing her to charge full-on at Kurogami. The entirety of her staff glowed the bluish-purple of her spirit energy, the blade at the end sharper than any piece of steel. Shiki's eyes were alight, even as she charged past him. He was vaguely conscious that the other battle had ended, and his friends were watching the scene play out as well.

But nothing could force his eyes away from what was happening before him. With a yell, Shiki thrust her naginata at Kurogami, who, caught off guard at the suddenness and ferocity of the assault, received an ugly slash to his shoulder. But the blow had not hit home, and the fact that he had managed to dodge the worst of it left Shiki open to a counterstrike. Moving in under the girl's guard, he delivered a devastating blow to her ribcage, and Kurama heard the sickening crack as multiple ribs snapped at the impact.

Shiki staggered backward, and Kurama rushed forward to catch her. Once she was safely cradled in his arms, he retreated backward a few yards to where the others now stood. Kurogami seemed content to let him go, a vicious and triumphant smirk plastered on his face. The others wore expressions that ranged from Yusuke's red-faced rage to Kuwabara's broken hollowness to Botan's tear-streaked despair.

As he laid her down on the ground and knelt beside her, Shiki's eyes fluttered open. Kurama opened his mouth to speak, but clamped it shut again when she smiled.

It was neither a smile of joy nor irony, and Kurama did not understand. He watched as Shiki opened her hand to reveal nothing at all. His eyes grew wider, and she nodded slowly, eyelids falling so that only a sliver of cobalt-blue iris was visible beneath them.

Kurama stood, and looked first at Botan. "Do whatever you can to keep her alive," he ordered, and something in his tone made the ferry girl nod firmly and wipe at her eyes before kneeling down next to her fallen friend.

The redhead observed how the others all stood around, looking at him for some indication of what to do. Yusuke, usually the undisputed leader of the group, remained as mute as the rest.

"We fight," he said simply, and they all readied their weapons.

"Well, well, you still insist on dying, do you? I suppose that's to be expected. But really, you should not be so foolish as your friend there. Why throw away your life for nothing? You know you cannot win." His smirk widened into a grin, and Kurama caught the flash of madness in his eyes.

It was then that something shifted inside the redhead. Anger and demonic instinct, so carefully suppressed, spilled over into his greater consciousness. He reached for the power lurking at the edges of his mind, and found that this time, it came easily, perhaps even eagerly, into his hands. He allowed the sensation to overwhelm him, and when he opened his eyes, he found that he could see everything a little more sharply. He inhaled, and the smells of battle were quickly taken in and sorted. Most dominant was the smell of blood. Everyone was bleeding. He concentrated on one particular smell, and knew from its unique tang that Shiki was still alive, though how long she would remain that way, he could not say.

This needed to end, and quickly.

* * *

Kurogami allowed the thrill of victory to overtake him. Now that the girl was dead, her stone wouldn't be an issue to him any longer. It was as good as done. Just a few more flies to swat, and he would finally have what was his.

He glanced over at where the bodies of his former servants lay. _Disgusting._ It was a waste, really. With them, the last of the water apparitions from the elder age had died. Those that remained were too intermixed with other demons and- appallingly- humans. Or at least that had been the case with the stone-bearers. It was rather clever, he had to admit. He'd been chasing down Yuki's bloodline from behind his seal for centuries. When he had finally found the one called Mizuki and sent Kaito to kill her, it had been too late. The stones had already been passed on, and the foul woman would not give up their location. It was a surprise, when he had finally found them in the humans' world. If he hadn't already been working on dissolving the barriers between worlds, he likely wouldn't have ever discovered them.

_I'm surprised a quarter-demon would have been strong enough to withstand the strain. _He hadn't thought it would be possible even for a half-breed. Perhaps some freak accident of genetics had given the girl the necessary strength to serve as vessel. Whatever the cause, the problem was now eliminated once and for all.

His train of thought was derailed when he sensed a sharply shifting spirit energy. He snapped his eyes to the source. It appeared the troublesome human who'd been fighting with the girl was not what he seemed.

Kurogami felt a slight tremor run through his body as the transformation completed. This made things substantially more exciting.

"You… you're from the elder age."

The answering glare was positively feral, and Kurogami laughed. "I thought that none as old as you still lived."

_Could he be here to challenge my rule? He would make a good servant, save that I am not so foolish as to trust those not forced to do my bidding. It would appear that he must die. Shame, that. Such a fine example of what we demons once were… but tainted by humans once again, I see. _

"Do you wish to Challenge me? Like things were then. You and I, fighting to the death, for no other reason than to see which is stronger." If his voice cracked at the end or his madness shone out of his eyes, Kurogami did not notice.

The white-haired demon's eyes narrowed to golden slits. "I would never bother to grace one so weak with a Challenge," he responded, voice laden with undertones of barely-controlled rage.

"Weak?" Kurogami nearly screamed. "I am not so weak as to fall to the likes of you!"

"No, you are not," the demon continued smoothly. "You are much weaker than that, weak enough to fall to this girl." He gestured with one clawed hand to the prone form of the stone-bearer.

Kurogami laughed again, mirthlessly and with a twinge of annoyance. "Me? Fall to _that? _Clearly, you have lost your wits."

The demon did not respond, but merely came at him, the others close behind, with more speed than Kurogami was ready for. Reflexively, he reached for the wellspring of power contained within his stone, and was startled when none was readily available. He tried again, more desperately this time, with the same result. Glancing down at where the stone was kept around his neck, he felt himself overcome with a cold terror. The Akuma stone was gone.

And all of a sudden, it made sense. The girl's odd convulsions as she tried to stand, the way she held her weapon in only one hand as she came at him, the way she didn't even try to back up as he ducked under her guard… she had _wanted_ him to get close, close enough that she could steal his stone. Should the two ever actually touch, both would be destroyed completely.

Kurogami felt the blood drain from his face as he realized what was about to happen. He braced himself, and then-

* * *

Shiki opened her eyes slowly, than abruptly shut them again against the light that flooded her senses. Blinking, she was able to get some sense of her surroundings. She was in a small-ish room, one with pleasantly-colored walls, a soft green, perhaps.

She attempted to keep up as memories assaulted her. She had grabbed Kurogami's stone, and then… there was pain, and she could feel everyone's spirit energy surge… then nothing.

She tried to sit up, unsure if she was still in danger, only to feel strong hands push her back down.

"Don't be a fool, child, you'll only pass out again that way," the voice was rough, gravelly, and somehow familiar. Her bleary mind struggled to provide her with a name.

"G…Genkai-sensei?" Shiki put a hand to her throbbing head.

"Yes. Now stop trying to move. We've managed to patch you up, but if you go sitting up, your wounds will reopen. There, good girl," Genkai finished gruffly.

"Is everyone-"

"All doing much better than you. Now, sleep."

Shiki obeyed, allowing fatigue to close her eyes and carry her away from wakefulness.

* * *

A few days later, she was able to sit up, and Genkai decided that she could see visitors. Botan was the first, and had thrown herself at Shiki, weeping about something, words incomprehensible when muttered against her friend's sleeping yukata. Shiki had gently eased the girl's arms from around her neck, trying not to wince from the painful effect the gesture had on her still-healing ribs.

Yusuke and Kuwabara had joined them soon after, both sporting bandages in various places themselves. Yusuke's head wound was still dressed, and he appeared to have several cuts that had not yet scabbed over. Kuwabara was slightly worse off, one of his arms in a sling. When prompted, he had explained with some embarrassment that this had happened not in the fight itself, but on the way back. He had used his dimension sword to cut them a portal directly to Genkai, and in his eagerness, had not realized that he had placed it at least three stories in the air. Shiki could not help but laugh at that, then wince at the pressure it put on her injuries.

Yukina had stopped in next, and even Hiei had stuck a head through the door and muttered something, which just made Shiki smile. She had spent several hours in conversation with Jii-chan, relating exactly what had happened. Her grandfather had assured her that her parents would never know of her injuries, and that she still had a few days before they expected her home. Her mother, at least, knew something of what was happening, but it would perhaps be best to spare her the sight of a child in such a condition.

As Jii-chan left, Shiki settled back against the wall, and tired to ignore the unease she was feeling. She tried to tell herself that she was reading too much into a certain conspicuous absence. After all, what did he owe her?

She bit her lip and closed her eyes. She was being stupid, to expect that he would come see her. Sure, they were friends of a sort, but he was surely quite a busy person, and besides, it wasn't as though she had known him all that long. Their journey had seemed to take months, but it could not have happened in more than three weeks, all told. Still, she wanted to thank him properly for all he had done for her, which by her estimation was quite a lot.

Trying to distract herself, her thoughts drifted to what must have happened when she was unconscious. She had managed to get Kuwabara to tell her all about it, and had spent some time afterward weeping for Izumi's death. Tears for the woman herself, and also for the loss of her last connection to a part of her history. There was still so much she had yet to learn about being a water apparition, details that she doubted anyone else could provide her. Perhaps, in time, she would grow strong enough to visit Makai again, and find someone who could tell her of herself, and maybe even her grandmother…

All her thoughts seemed to vanish when she felt a familiar presence behind her door. That was something she had yet to get used to, being able to sense who was near. Apparently, the stones really _had _been suppressing her spirit energy, and learning to deal with it was going to be another major hurdle, she was sure.

As expected, a knock followed.

"Come in," she nearly choked. _Fantastic. _Hopefully he would put it down to her still being injured.

The door slid aside, and Kurama entered soundlessly, leaving it open somewhat as he sat beside her.

"Shiki," he said simply.

"Er… hello, Kurama." Much to her agitation, she found herself unable to meet his eyes, exactly. Instead, she focused on a point in the wall over his shoulder.

"Are you well?"

"I'm much better. I should be able to move about freely soon." She smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring fashion.

"That is good news." They lapsed into silence, and Shiki frowned inwardly. Conversations with the others hadn't been so stilted, and she couldn't say why this one was. Well, that wasn't exactly true. She was remembering with some trepidation and embarrassment what had happened the last time the two had been alone.

_Ugh. I can't believe I just lost it like that… no wonder he doesn't want to talk to me. And the thing with Youko was my fault, too. _And _he nearly died several times because I wasn't as strong as I should have been. Why _is _he here? He should probably never want to see me again._

Put like that, Shiki began to understand why he had taken so long to come, and was more bewildered by the fact that he had bothered at all.

"Thank you," he said softly, causing her to whip her gaze, currently unfocused and on her hands, to his face. _What?_

"Why?" She asked aloud.

It was Kurama's turn to look surprised, though he hid it well; the shift in expression was almost imperceptible. Were Shiki no so accustomed to wearing a mask herself, she probably would have missed it entirely.

"For… for everything," Kurama seemed unusually tongue-tied.

She shook her head slowly. "It seems to me I should be the one thanking you. For saving my life, for helping me, for… understanding." She felt heat rise to her cheeks and cursed herself for being so transparent.

His expression softened. "We would not have been able to do any of this without you. And I… I wish to thank you too, for showing me how to understand myself."

Shiki didn't quite understand what he meant, but all possibility of figuring it out was promptly killed when he took her small hand in one of his and brought it upward, touching it to his lips, his eyes never leaving hers. Shiki burned what she was sure was probably an impressive shade of crimson, and looked away.

She missed the hint of amusement that played across his face as he released her hand and stood to leave.

"Farewell for now, Shiki."

"Um… sure. Goodbye." She couldn't help sneak a glance at him as he left.

_Just what have I gotten myself into?_


End file.
